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REPRINT 

OF 

FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 256 

PREPARATION OF VEGETABLES 
FOR THE TABLE 



ISSUED BY 

Mayor's Committee on Food Supply 



JOHN PURROY MITCHEL, Mayor 
GEORGE W. PERKINS - Chairman 
JOSEPH HARTIGAN - - Secretary 



NOVEMBER, 1914 



REPRINT 

OF 

FARMERS' BULLETIN No. 256 



PREPARATION OF VEGETABLES 
FOR THE TABLE 



ISSUED BY 

Mayor's Committee. on Food Supply 



JOHN PURROY MITCHEL, Mayor 
GEORGE W. PERKINS - Chairman 
JOSEPH HARTIGAN - - Secretary 



NOVEMBER, 1914 







D. r- D-' 



5593-14-5M E. 

BROOKLYN EAGLE PRESS 



V 






r> 



CONTENTS 



Vase 

Introduction 5 

Structure and composition of vegetables ; 5 

Classification of vegetables 6 

General principles underlying vegetable cooking 8 

Blanching vegetables . as a cooking process 9 

Waste in preparing vegetables 10 

Losses in cooking vegetables 10 

Changes that take place in cooking vegetables 11 

Cabbage 12 

Cauliflower 13 

Broccoli \ 13 

Brussels sprouts 14 

Kale, or borecole 15 

Sea kale - •. 15 

Spinach 15 

Lettuce 17 

Swiss chards 17 

Beet greens 17 

Asparagus t . 17 

Globe artichoke 18 

Spring greens 18 

Green peas 19 

Sugar peas 20 

Beans . . 21 

Green or string beans 21 

Scarlet runner beans 22 

Shelled kidney beans • 22 

Dried beans 23 

Lentils 25 

Cowpeas 25 

Potatoes 25 

Sweet potatoes 28 

Jerusalem artichoke 29 

Turnips 29 

Carrots 29 

Parsnips 30 

Salsify : 30 

Beets , 30 

Kohl-rabi, or turnip cabbage 31 

Celeriac '. 31 

Celery 31 

256 

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4 

Page 

Onion 32 

Cucumbers 33 

Tomatoes 33 

Okra 34 

Green peppers 34 

Eggplant 35 

Squash 35 

Green corn 36 

Vegetable hash 36 

Rice 37 

Hominy and corn meal 37 

Vegetable soups 37 

Mixed vegetable soup 38 

Herb soup 38 

Sorrel soup 38 

Leek soup 39 

Cream of leek soup 39 

Potato soup , 39 

Cream of celeriac soup 40 

Tomato soup 40 

Okra and tomato soup 40 

Onion chowder 40 

Green pea soup 41 

Split pea soup 41 

Dried bean soup 41 

Cream of bean soup 42 

Seasonings and sauces for vegetables 42 

Time of cooking flavors 42 

Fried vegetables for seasoning 43 

Fine herbs <-. 43 

Tarragon vinegar 43 

Butter with vegetables 43 

Savoy drippings 44 

Cream sauce 44 

Cream mustard sauce 44 

Whjte sauce 44 

Tomato sauce 45 

Salads and salad dressings 45 

Lettuce salad with French dressing 45 

Lettuce salad with cream dressing 46 

Cabbage salad 46 

Cucumber salad '. 46 

Dressings or sauces for salads 47 

256 



PREPARATION OF VEGETABLES FOR THE TABLE. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The object of this bulletin is to help the housekeeper to a better under- 
standing of the vegetable foods and the methods of preparing them. The 
aim has been to give, in a simple, clear form, an idea of the structure and 
composition of plants with relation to their food value, and the principles 
underlying the preparation of vegetables for the table. Although the 
bulletin is not designed primarily as a cookery book, yet a large number 
of recipes for cooking vegetables are given. These recipes are types, 
which may be modified or changed to suit the materials or conditions 
with which the housekeeper has to deal. Every recipe has been carefully 
tested, and it is only fair to the writer and to the cook that they shall be 
followed accurately the first time they are used. 

Some of the vegetables and herbs called for are not commonly found 
in the home garden, but they may be grown in every garden, a and are 
well worthy of a place in our menu. 

STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF VEGETABLES. 

Plants are made up of innumerable cells, each consisting of a thin 
membranous wall inclosing a semifluid mass, in which lies the nucleus 
or center of cell activity and minute grains of starch or other material 
which the plant has elaborated. 

The whole framework of the very young plants is made up of these 
cell walls, commonly called cellular tissue or cellulose. However, early 
in the growth of the plant wood cells begin to develop. The wood cells 
grow into a fibrous substance that may be torn apart like threads, which 
is called woody fiber. It is this woody fiber and the thickening and 
hardening of the cellular tissue that make poorly grown or stale vegetables 
hard and indigestible. 

Practically all green plants contain a large percentage of water with 
a large or smaller percentage of starch and some nitrogenous material 
(protein), sugar, gum, crude fiber, and other carbohydrate and mineral 
matter. The fruits and seeds of some»plants are rich in fat, but the plant 
itself rarely contains any appreciable amount of this constituent. b 

Chlorophyll, a green coloring matter found in all green plants, is 
essential for their continued growth and development, as are also light and 

* See U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmer's Bui. 225. 

b The composition of a large number of vegetables is given in U. S. Dept. Agr., 
Office of Experiment Stations Bui. 28, and in Farmers' Bui. 142. 
256 

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air. If green plants are covered so that light can not reach them, changes 
take place in the cells, and the chlorophyll is bleached out. Plant cells, 
when they make their normal growth, frequently elaborate chemical bodies 
with strong flavor, for instance, the bitter principle found in dandelions. 
When the chlorophyll bleaches out it is commonly believed that any 
strong flavored bodies also diminish, and this is one reason for covering 
salad plants from the light in order that they may become blanched. 
Plants may continue to grow from stored material for a time if light is 
excluded, but the growth is not the same. The leaves are usually smaller 
and the stems longer than is the case with normal plants. The cells are 
larger, have thinner walls, and do not develop chlorophyll, while the per- 
centage of water is higher. In other words, the growth made without 
light is more tender than the normal growth. This is another reason why 
such salad plants as endive and celery are blanched before they are used. 
In some cases the light is excluded by tying up the plants and in others by 
covering them. 

In the household the term blanching has other meanings. Thus, 
nuts, like almonds, are blanched when the brown outer skin is removed 
by treatment with hot water, and vegetables are blanched in cooking, 
as described on page 9. 

Most vegetables contain small amounts of volatile essential oils or 
other bodies of pronounced flavor and owe their characteristic taste to 
such constituents ; sugars and acids when present, as they often are, and 
mineral salts, found in all vegetable foods, also contribute their share 
toward the flavor. 

CLASSIFICATION OF VEGETABLES. 

Vegetable foods may be divided into a few general classes. These 
are cereals, legumes, tubers, roots and bulbs, herbaceous or green vege- 
tables, and vegetable fruits and flowers. The cereals are the most valu- 
able of the vegetable foods, including as they do the grains from which 
is made nearly all the bread of the world. The use of cereals for bread 
making, for breakfast foods, and in similar ways is taken up elsewhere.' 
In this bulletin rice and corn are the only cereals considered, as they are 
the only grains commonly employed as table vegetables. 

Rice is largely composed of starch and has very small proportions 
of nitrogenous, fatty, and mineral matter. Therefore, when used as a 
vegetable, it is naturally and very properly served with foods rich in 
the constituents which it lacks. The starch granules in rice are small 
and angular, and it is generally conceded to be easily digested. Corn, 
when ripe, also has a high percentage of starch in addition to a fair pro- 
portion of the other nutrients. The dried grains contain about 12 per 
cent of nitrogenous matter and about 9 per cent of fatty matter. It will 
be seen, therefore, that it is more nutritious than rice. Like all starchy 
foods, corn may be served or combined with foods rich in nitrogenous 
and fatty matter to form a well-balanced diet. Green corn is a succulent 
vegetable containing a fair proportion of carbohydrates in addition to 
a small proportion of the other nutrients. 

Legumes belong to the pulse family. The fruit is usually in the 

»U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' Buls. 105, 112, 193, 237, 249. 
256 



shape of a pod. Although there are several thousand species of the 
Leguminosse or pulse, only a few kinds are used as table vegetables, beans, 
peas, cowpeas, and lentils being the legumes principally employed as 
human food. The dried seeds of beans, peas, and lentils constitute a most 
.valuable all-the-y ear-round food supply. The seeds occupy small space, 
keep well, and may be prepared in a great many appetizing and nutritious 
forms. 

The ripe leguminous seeds are very rich in nitrogenous matter. Peas, 
beans, cowpeas, and lentils contain on an average 25 per cent nitrogenous 
matter and over 50 per cent starch, and about 10 per cent cellulose, fatty 
matter, and mineral matter. When properly cooked and consumed in 
reasonable quantities peas, beans, and lentils may replace a portion of 
the meat in the daily dietary. The unripe legumes and their edible pods, 
like all green vegetables, are quite succulent foods,' the proportion of 
nutritive material being small as compared with the water present. 

Since the fatty matter in the legumes enumerated does not average 
3 per cent they are commonly and wisely cooked with some added fat. 
The green seeds and the green pods of peas and beans are not so highly 
nutritious as the dried seed, but they are more delicate and apparently 
more easily digested. a 

Among the foods served as table vegetables, tubers and roots have 
an important place. The potato comes next to the cereals in its almost 
universal employment and the material consumed. We have no other 
vegetable that lends itself to such a variety of preparations. The potato 
contains a large percentage of water, a fair percentage of starch, a very 
small percentage of sugar, and nitrogenous, fatty, and gummy matter, 
and about 1 per cent of mineral matter. The mineral matter consists 
of potash and soda salts, citrates, phosphates, magnesia, and silicate of 
lime. It is to this mineral matter that the potato owes its antiscorbutic 
properties. 

The sweet potato is rich in starch and sugar. The percentage of 
nitrogenous and fatty matter is very small. This vegetable makes a pleas- 
ant and healthful addition to the table. It is somewhat laxative. 

The Jerusalem artichoke," a fairly common tuber used as a vegetable, 
is a species of sunflower. The name is a corruption of girasole, the Italian 
name for sunflower. The Jerusalem artichoke tubers can be left in the 
ground during the winter ; they are welcome and refreshing in the spring 
when fresh vegetables are scarce. The carbohydrates, which constitute 
14 or 15 per cent of the tuber and are the principal nutritive material 
present, consist largely of inulin instead of the starch which is so char- 
acteristic in most other tubers. 

The true roots most used as table vegetables are beets, radish, turnips, 
parsnips, carrots, salsify, and celeriac. Both the parsnip and salsify 
withstand frost and may be left in the ground all winter, thus making it 
possible to have these vegetables in the early spring as well as in 
the fall. However, they must not be left in the ground too late in the > 
season the following spring, as they soon grow hard and fibrous. Turnips, 

a For a fuller description of these vegetables see U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' 
Buls. 121 and 169. 

b For data regarding the culture and food value of the Jerusalem artichoke 
see U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 73, p. 10. 

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beets, and carrots, for summer and fall use, should be of the quick-grow- 
ing kind, and should not be allowed to grow to great size. To have these 
vegetables in perfection it is necessary to sow them frequently during the 
season. When grown for winter use, these roots, like all vegetables that 
are to be stored, must, of course, develop until mature, else they will not 
keep well. 

The bulb-bearing plants belong to the lily family, the onion being 
the bulb most generally used as a vegetable and flavorer. On the Conti- 
nent of Europe very many other members of the onion family are also 
freely used as flavorers, and no continental kitchen garden would be con- 
sidered complete without several varieties, such as the common onion, 
leek, shallot, garlic, chives, and cibol. Much of the delicious flavor of 
the French and Italian cookery is due to the skillful combination of several 
of the onion flavors. 

The herbaceous vegetables cabbage, lettuce, celery, spinach, etc., 
are valuable for their refreshing qualities, the salts they yield, and the 
variety they give to our diet, but owing to the amount of water they 
contain (90 per cent or more on an average) their food value is low. The 
leaves, stems, and shoots are the parts used as food. These vegetables 
should be employed while young and tender ; the more rapidly the vege- 
tables grow the more tender they will be. Slow growth favors the 
development of tough and woody matter, as is very noticeable in aspar- 
agus, lettuce, etc., in cold springs and summers. The list of herbaceous 
vegetables is long and includes the cabbage tribe, celery, asparagus, and 
all the green leaves, stalks, and shoots that are employed, cooked, or used 
as salads. 

Fruits used as vegetables include tomatoes, okra, squash, pumpkin, 
cucumber, eggplant, and peppers, among others. Such fruits as musk- 
melon and watermelon are used as fruits a rather than as vegetables, and 
are not taken up here. In the case of globe or French artichoke, cauli- 
flower, and broccoli the flower buds or inflorescence are the parts eaten. 

GENERAL PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING VEGETABLE 

COOKING. 

Vegetables are baked, roasted, fried, or boiled, are used for making 
a great variety of dishes, and are prepared for the table in other ways; 
but the most common method of cooking them is in boiling water. Steam- 
ing is not infrequently resorted to as a method of cooking vegetables 
and is, of course, similar in principle to boiling in water. 

The simpler the methods of cooking and serving vegetables the better. 
A properly grown and well-cooked vegetable will be palatable and readily 
digestible. Badly cooked, water-soaked vegetables very generally cause 
digestive disturbances, which are often serious. Nearly every vegetable 
may be cooked so that with plain bread it may form a palatable course 
by itself, if it is desired to serve it in this manner. 

All green vegetables, roots, and tubers should be crisp and firm when 
put on to cook. If for any reason a vegetable has lost its firmness and 
crispness, it should be soaked in very cold water until it becomes plump 

» Fruit and Its Uses as Food, U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1905, p. 307. 
256 



and crisp. With new vegetables this will be only a matter of minutes, 
while old roots and tubers often require many hours. All vegetables 
should be thoroughly cleaned just before being put on to cook. Vege- 
tables that form in heads, such as cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels 
sprouts, should be soaked, heads turned down, in salted cold water, to 
which a few spoonfuls of vinegar may be added. If there are any worms 
or other forms of animal life in these vegetables, they will crawl out. To 
secure the best results all vegetables except the dried legumes must be 
put in boiling water, and the water must be made to boil again as soon as 
possible after the vegetables have been added, and must be kept boiling 
until the cooking is finished. Herbaceous vegetables should boil rapidly 
all the time. With tubers, roots, cauliflower, etc., the ebullition should not 
be so violent as to break the vegetables. Green beans and peas when 
removed from the pod must also be cooked gently, i. e., just simmer. 
When the pods and all are used they are to be cooked rapidly, like the 
herbaceous vegetables. 

To secure the most appetizing and palatable dishes, only fresh tender 
vegetables should be cooked. If, however, green beans, peas, etc., have 
grown until a little too old and it still seems best to gather them, a very 
small piece of baking soda added to the water in which they are boiled 
makes them more tender, it is commonly believed, and helps to retain 
the color. Too much soda injures the flavor, and an excess must be care- 
fully avoided. A little soda may also be used to advantage if the water 
is quite hard. Peas may be boiled for fifteen or twenty minutes in the 
water to which the soda has been added, then to be cooked the same as 
peas with pork (p. 21). 

During the cooking of all vegetables the cover must be drawn to one 
side of the stewpan to allow the volatile bodies liberated by the heat to 
pass off in the steam. All vegetables should be thoroughly cooked, but 
the cooking should stop while the vegetable is still firm. This, of course, 
does not apply to vegetables that are cooked in soups, purees (thick 
strained soups), etc. The best seasoning for most vegetables is salt and 
good butter. Vegetables that are blanched and then cooked with butter 
and other seasonings and very little moisture are more savory and nutri- 
tious than when all the cooking is done in a good deal of clear water. 

BLANCHING VEGETABLES AS A COOKING PROCESS. 

Blanching, which in cookery is entirely different from the bleaching 
or blanching of green vegetables in the garden, is a cooking process often 
used with vegetables, since it removes the strong or acrid taste and im- 
proves the quality. It is also convenient, since blanching may be done at 
any time, and the cooking completed in a very short time when the dish 
is to be served. 

Have a large stewpan half full of rapidly boiling water. Add a 
tablespoonful of salt for every two quarts of water. Have the vegetables 
cleaned and well drained. Drop them into the boiling water, and bring 
the water back to the boiling point as quickly as possible. Boil rapidly, 
with the cover partially or wholly off the stewpan, five to twenty minutes, 
depending upon the vegetable, then drain off the water. If the cooking 
of the vegetable is not to be finished at once, pour cold water over the 

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vegetable to cool it quickly, then drain and set aside until needed. If the 
cooking is to be continued at once, it will not be necessary to rinse the 
vegetable with cold water. To complete the cooking the vegetable should 
be put in a small stewpan with butter or drippings (see p. 45) and the 
other seasonings and cooked gently until done. A few spoonfuls of 
liquid will be required for every quart of very juicy vegetables, and half 
a pint of liquid for drier vegetables. The stewpan is to be covered, only 
a slight opening being left for ventilation. All vegetables cooked in this 
manner should be cut up rather small either before or after the blanching. 

WASTE IN PREPARING VEGETABLES. 

In preparing vegetables for the table there is almost always a larger 
or smaller loss due to inedible matter, skins, roots, seeds, etc., and also 
a waste of good material, which is caused by careless paring, etc., all 
these losses being grouped together in reporting analyses under the name 
"refuse." The amount of refuse varies greatly in different vegetables, as 
shown by a large number of analyses of American food materials. 11 The 
amount may be very small (7 per cent) in such vegetables as string beans ; 
medium (10 per cent to 15 per cent) in such vegetables as onions, cabbage, 
leeks, lettuce, cucumbers; or high (50 per cent) in such vegetables as 
beans in pod, pumpkins, and squash. With tubers, such as potatoes, the 
average amount of refuse is 20 per cent, and with such roots as turnips 
30 per cent. 

In preparing vegetables for the table the careful cook will remove all 
inedible portions and will see to it that the total amount of refuse is as 
small as is consistent with good quality. Thin paring of potatoes and 
other vegetables is an economy which it is worth while to practice, and 
is an easy way of decreasing useless loss. 

LOSSES IN COOKING VEGETABLES. 

In baking vegetables there is little loss of material except the water 
which is driven off by the heat. When vegetables are immersed in water, 
as in boiling, a greater or less loss of material is almost inevitable, the^ 
kind and amount of material extracted by the water depending upon 
such factors as the sort of water used, its temperature at the beginning 
and during the cooking period, the length of time the cooking is con- 
tinued, and the condition of the vegetable, that is, whether pared, whole, 
or cut into small pieces. 

In experiments carried on under the auspices of the Office of Experi- 
ment Stations b it was found that when potatoes were boiled in the jackets 
the loss of material was very trifling. When peeled and soaked for several 
hours before boiling, the loss in round numbers amounted to about 50 
per cent of the nitrogenous material, and 40 per cent of the mineral matter 
present. When potatoes were peeled and placed at once in boiling water, 
only about 8 per cent of the proteid matter and 19 per cent of the mineral 
matter present were extracted by the water. Little starch was removed 
from the potatoes by the solvent action of water, but when peeled potatoes 

a U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations Bui. 28. 

b U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations Bui. 43 ; Farmers' Bui. 73, 

p. 22. 
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11 

were boiled the amount of starch removed by abrasion was considerable, 
at times nearly 30 per cent of the total value of the potato. 

In the experiments with carrots it was found that the loss was great- 
est when the roots were cut into small pieces, amounting in this case to 
nearly 30 per cent of the total food material present. The sugar extracted 
when the carrots were boiled was equivalent to nearly a pound to the 
bushel. When cabbage was boiled the amount of material extracted was 
found to be considerable, amounting to about one-third of the total food 
material present, the chief constituents extracted by the water being ash 
or mineral matter. Some recent German experiments 21 have shown that 
when vegetables are steamed only one-third as much material is removed 
as when they are boiled. 

In all cases the loss in cooking vegetables is not great enough to 
seriously influence the method of cooking selected in the ordinary family. 
But in institutions where, owing to small funds, every effort must be 
made to obtain the most nutritious diet from the available food supply, it 
is only fair to say that of two equally palatable methods of cooking vege- 
tables that should be selected which entails the smallest loss. 

CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN COOKING VEGETABLES. 

Briefly, these are the principal changes that take place in vegetables 
during cooking : The cellular tissue is softened and loosened ; the nitro- 
genous substances are coagulated ; the starch granules absorb moisture, 
swell, and burst ; and flavors and odors are developed. 

As long as the vegetable is kept at a temperature above 125 degrees F. 
changes continue to go on in the vegetable substance. The most marked 
of these are in the starch and in the odor, color, and flavor of the vegetable. 
Starch will not dissolve in cold water, but pure starch gelatinizes readily 
in hot water, and if the temperature is high enough will become gummy 
and opaque. If starch is cooked in just moisture enough to swell and 
burst its granules and is then kept hot, but without additional moisture, 
a change will continue to take place, though the starch will remain dry 
and glistening. The flavor grows sweeter and more nutty the longer the 
starchy food cooks in dry heat. (See Boiled potatoes, Boiled rice.) It 
is only vegetables that are composed largely of starch that can be kept 
hot in this manner without acquiring a strong taste and poor color. 
Potatoes, if kept in a closely covered vessel or with the unbroken skins 
on, will become soggy and dark and have a rank flavor. This is owing to 
the retention of moisture, which changes some of the starch to a sticky, 
gummy mass, and very probably to the noxious volatile bodies which are 
generated by heat and should be allowed to pass away. If the skins are 
broken and the vessel ventilated, potatoes may be kept warm a long time 
without spoiling. 

During the cooking of all kinds of foods gases are developed which, 
if retained in the food, give it a strong flavor and odor, and which, there 
is reason to believe, are injurious. What all these gases are and just how 
they act is not yet known, because very little research has been siade along 
these lines. It has been found, however, that, in addition to water vapor, 

"Landw. Jahrb. Schweiz, 19 (1905), p. 619. 
256 



12 

carbon dioxid is of common occurrence, as is also hydrogen sulphid, 
mercaptan (sulphur alcohol), or some other volatile sulphur compound. 

The carbonic-acid gas is liberated from practically all foods and sul- 
phureted hydrogen or other volatile sulphur compound from practically 
all except the starchy vegetables. If the food be thoroughly ventilated 
while cooking, the gases will pass off in the steam. Many experiments 
which the writer has made have shown that foods which are well venti- 
lated during cooking are better flavored than those which are closely 
covered. Experiments have also convinced the writer that thoroughly 
ventilated foods are more wholesome than those that are not. Hence 
the urgent necessity for thorough ventilation while cooking vegetables 
or any other foods. 

Overcooking changes and toughens the texture of vegetable foods 
and destroys the chlorophyll and other coloring matters and volatilizes or 
injures the bodies which contribute to the flavor. Overcooked vegetables 
are inferior in appearance and flavor and often "indigestible (that is, pro- 
motive of digestive disturbance) as well as unpalatable. 

CABBAGE. 

Because of the relatively large amount of sulphur which cabbage 
contains it is apt to be indigestible and cause flatulence when it is im- 
properly cooked. On the other hand, it can be cooked so that it will be 
delicate and digestible. It is one of our most useful vegetables, being 
available during the late fall, winter, and spring months, when other 
green vegetables are difficult to procure. The quickest and simplest 
methods of cooking cabbage are the best. The essentials for the proper 
cooking of this vegetable are plenty of boiling water, a hot fire to keep 
the water boiling all the time, and thorough ventilation, that the strong- 
smelling gases, liberated by the high temperature, may be carried off in 
the steam. 

Young cabbage will cook in twenty-five or thirty minutes ; late in 
the winter it may require forty-five minutes. The vegetable when done 
should be crisp and tender, any green portion should retain the color, and 
the white portion should be white and not yellow or brown. Overcooked 
cabbage or cauliflower is more or less yellow, has a strong flavor, and is 
very inferior to the same dish properly cooked. In addition, overcooking 
is a cause of digestive disturbance. 

TO BOIL CABBAGE. 

Cut a small head of cabbage into four parts, cutting down through 
the stock. Soak for half an hour in a pan of cold water to which has 
been added a tablespoonful of salt; this is to draw out any insects that 
may be hidden in the leaves. Take from the water and cut into slices. 
Have a large stewpan half full of boiling water ; put in the cabbage, push- 
ing it under the water with a spoon. Add one tablespoonful of salt and 
cook from twenty-five to forty-five minutes, depending upon the age of 
the cabbage. Turn into a colander and drain for about two minutes. Put 
in a chopping bowl and mince. Season with butter, pepper, and more 
salt if it requires it. Allow a tablespoonful of butter to a generous pint 
of the cooked vegetable. Cabbage cooked in this manner will be of 

256 



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delicate flavor and may be generally eaten without distress. Have the 
kitchen windows open at the top while the cabbage is boiling, and there 
will be little if any odor of cabbage in the house. 

CABBAGE COOKED WITH PORK. 

For a small head of cabbage use about half a pound of mixed salt 
pork. Boil the pork gently for three or four hours. Prepare the cabbage 
as for plain boiled cabbage. Drain well and put on to boil with the pork. 
Boil rapidly for twenty-five to forty-five minutes. Serve the pork with 
the cabbage. The vegetable may require a little more salt. 

Smoked bacon or ham may be substituted for the pork. Cabbage may 
be cooked in water in which corned beef was boiled. 

CREAMED CABBAGE. 



1 pint boiled and minced cabbage. 
]/ 2 pint hot milk. 
1 tablespoonful butter. 



1 teaspoonful flour. 
/ 2 teaspoonful salt. 
/ 2 teaspoonful pepper. 



Put the cabbage, hot milk, salt, and pepper in a stewpan and on the 
fire. Beat the butter and flour together until creamy, then stir into the 
contents of the stewpan. Simmer ten minutes, being careful not to scorch 
the sauce; serve very hot. 



CABBAGE WITH SAUSAGE. 



6 sausages. 

1 quart minced cabbage. 



teaspoonful pepper. 
Salt, if necessary. 



Fry the sausages crisp and brown. Take from the frying pan and 
pour off all but three tablespoonfuls of the fat. Put the minced cabbage 
in the frying pan and cook six minutes. Arrange in a hot dish and garnish 
with the sausages. Serve mashed potatoes with this dish. 



PUREE OF CABBAGE AND POTATOES. 

2 teaspoonfuls salt. 
y 2 teaspoonful pepper. 
y 2 pint hot milk. 



1 pint boiled finely-minced cabbage. 
6 medium-sized potatoes. 

2 tablespoonfuls butter or savory 

drippings (see p. 45). 

Peel the potatoes and put them in a stewpan with boiling water 
enough to cover them. Cook just thirty minutes. Pour off the water and 
mash fine and light. Beat in the hot milk, seasoning, and cabbage. Cook 
about five minutes longer. 

CAULIFLOWER. • 

This vegetable, which a few years ago was a luxury, is now cultivated 
by nearly all market gardeners, and is within the means of all house- 
keepers. It is a most delicious vegetable, when properly cooked, and vile 
when improperly cooked, which generally means when overcooked. 

Remove all the large green leaves and the greater part of the stalk. 
Put the head down in a pan of cold water which contains to each quart a 
teaspoonful of salt and a teaspoonful of vinegar. Let it soak in this water 
an hour or more. This is to draw out worms, if any should be hidden in 
the vegetable. When ready to cook the cauliflower put it into a large stew- 
pan, stem end down, and cover generously with boiling water. Add a 

256 



14 

tablespoonful of salt and cook with the cover of the saucepan partially off, 
boiling gently all the time. A large, compact head will require a full 
half hour, small heads from twenty to twenty-five minutes. If the flowers 
are loose the heat penetrates to all parts quickly. When compact a little 
extra time should be allowed for the cooking, but the time must never 
exceed the half hour. The cauliflower begins to deteriorate the moment 
it begins to be overcooked. Overcooking, which is very common, can be 
told by the strong flavor and dark color. It makes the vegetable not only 
unpleasant to the eye and palate, but indigestible also. If this vegetable 
must be kept warm for any length of time, cover the dish with a piece of 
cheese cloth. In hotels and restaurants it is better to blanch it, chill with 
cold water, and then heat in salted boiling water when needed. 

CREAMED CAULIFLOWER. 



1 tablespoonful butter. 
{ / 2 tablespoonful flour. 
3 slices toasted bread. 



1 pint cooked cauliflower. 

1 pint milk. 

1 teaspoonful salt. 
Yz teaspoonful pepper. 

Have the cooked cauliflower broken into branches and seasoned with 
half the salt and pepper. Put the butter in a saucepan and on the fire. 
When hot add the flour and stir until smooth and frothy, then gradually 
add the milk, stirring all the time. When the sauce boils add the salt, 
pepper, and the cauliflower. Cook ten minutes and dish on the slices of 
toast. Serve very hot. 

BROCCOLI. 

This vegetable is a species of cauliflower and can be cooked and 
served in the same manner. 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS. 

This is a species of cabbage, which forms in many small heads about 
the size of an English walnut on the stock of the plant. It is fairly com- 
mon in most large markets and is worthy of more extended use than it 
has commonly met with in the United States. 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS BLANCHED. 

Remove the wilted or yellow leaves from the little heads or "sprouts," 
cut the stock close to the head, and soak in salted cold water for an hour 
or more. Drain well and put into plenty of boiling salted water. Allow 
one teaspoonful of salt to two quarts of water. Boil rapidly for fifteen or 
twenty minutes, the time depending on the size of the heads. When done 
turn into a colander and pour cold water over the heads. They are now 
ready to cook in butter, or to serve with any kind of sauce. Or the boiling 
water may be drained from the sprouts, which can then be seasoned with 
butter, salt, and pepper. 

BRUSSELS SPROUTS SAUTE. 

1 quart Brussels sprouts. I Y* teaspoonful salt. 

3 tablespoonfuls butter. I Ya teaspoonful pepper. 

To sauter a food is to cook it quickly in a frying pan in a little fat. 
Blanch the sprouts and drain well. Put them into a broad-bottomed 

256 



15 

saucepan with the butter and other seasonings. Place over a hot fire and 
shake frequently. Cook five minutes. Serve hot. 

KALE, OR BORECOLE. 

There are several varieties of this vegetable. The dwarf, green- 
curled kale is the best for the table and is a fall and spring vegetable. 
The leaves are sweeter and more tender after having been touched by 
the frost. In the north the roots may be banked with earth at the begin- 
ning of winter and when extreme cold weather sets in the plants may be 
covered lightly with hay or straw. In the spring the old stalks will 
produce young shoots that make delicious greens. 

KALE BOILED WITH PORK. 

Cook the kale the same as cabbage with pork. 

MINCED KALE. 

Remove all the old or tough leaves. Wash the kale thoroughly and 
drain, then put on to cook in a kettle of boiling water, to which has been 
added salt in the proportion of 1 tablespoonful to 4 quarts of water. Boil 
rapidly, with the cover off the kettle, until the vegetable is tender. Pour 
off the water, and chop the kale rather fine ; then put back into the kettle 
and add 1 tablespoonful of butter and 2 of meat broth or water for each 
pint of the minced vegetable. Add more salt if required. Cook for ten 
minutes and serve at once. The time required for cooking kale varies 
from thirty to fifty minutes. If young and fresh from the garden it 
will cook in thirty minutes. 

SEA KALE. 

.This is a delicious spring vegetable. It requires practically the same 
culture as asparagus, and the young shoots are cooked in the same way as 
this vegetable. Sea kale may be cut the third year from the planting of 
the seed. Cutting should not be continued after the flower heads begin 
to form. The flower heads may be cooked the same as broccoli. 

SPINACH. 

This vegetable is a great resource in cold weather when green vege- 
tables are scarce. 

The common spinach, which is the sort usually met with in gardens 
or markets, goes to seed quickly in hot weather, but New Zealand spinach, 
which is a very different plant from ordinary spinach and far less well 
known in the United States, yields tender greens all summer. The shoots 
should be cut regularly ; if not, the old shoots become tough and rank 
flavored. 

Spinach has little food value, but its refreshing and slightly laxative 
qualities make it a valuable adjunct to the more substantial foods. It 
contains little starch and only a suggestion of sugar, and is therefore one 
of the vegetables that physicians include in the bill of fare of many 
invalids who require a diet without these carbohydrates. 

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16 

Like most other vegetables, it is rarely cooked to perfection, yet it is 
not difficult to prepare. Except for special reasons the simplest methods 
are the best for this vegetable. No matter how cheap the raw spinach 
may be, it is always expensive in two things — labor and butter. It takes 
a good deal of time, water, and patience to wash it clean, and no other 
vegetable requires so much butter if it is to be at its best. Where strict 
economy must be practiced, sweet drippings from roast beef or chicken 
can be substituted for the butter. 

To clean the spinach cut off the roots, break the leaves apart and 
drop them into a large pan of water, rinse them well in this water and 
put them in a second pan of water. Continue washing in clean waters 
until there is not a trace of sand on the bottom of the pan in which the 
vegetable was washed. If the spinach is at all wilted let it stand in cold 
water until it becomes fresh and crisp. Drain from this water and blanch. 
For half a peck of spinach have in a large saucepan 3 quarts of boiling 
water and 1 tablespoonful of salt. Put the drained spinach in the boiling 
water and let it boil ten minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. 
When it begins to boil draw the cover of the saucepan a little to one side 
to allow the steam to escape. At the end of ten minutes pour the spinach 
into a colander, and when the hot water has passed off pour cold water 
over it. Let it drain well and mince coarse or fine, as is suitable for the 
manner in which it is to be served. 

One peck of spinach will make about \y 2 pints when blanched and 
minced. 

SPINACH WITH CREAM. 

l / 2 peck spinach. 1 teaspoonful salt. 

2 tablespoonfuls butter. l / 2 teaspoonful pepper. 
1 tablespoonful flour. | l / 2 pint cream or milk. 

Blanch and mince the spinach. Put the butter in a saucepan and on 
the fire. When hot add the flour and stir until smooth and frothy, then 
add the minced spinach and the salt and pepper. Cook for five minutes, 
then add the milk or cream, hot, and cook three minutes longer. Serve. 

SPINACH WITH EGG. 

y 2 peck spinach. j 2 eggs. 

3 tablespoonfuls butter. 3 teaspoonfuls salt. 
y 2 teaspoonful pepper. | 

Wash and blanch the spinach, using two teaspoonfuls of the salt in 
the water in which the vegetable is boiled. Drain the blanched spinach 
and chop rather fine, return it to the saucepan, and add the salt, pepper 
and butter. Place on the fire and cook ten minutes. Heap in a mound 
on a hot dish and garnish with the hard-boiled eggs, cut in slices. 

SPINACH COOKED WITHOUT WATER. 

Fresh spinach when washed holds enough water for cooking. Put 
the spinach in a stewpan and on the fire ; cover and cook for ten minutes. 
Press down and turn the spinach over several times during the cooking. 
At the end of ten minutes turn the spinach into a chopping bowl, and 
mince rather fine. Return to the stewpan and add the seasonings, allow- 
ing for half a peck of spinach two generous tablespoonfuls of butter 

256 



17 

and a teaspoonful of salt. Simmer ten minutes; or if very tender nve 
minutes will be sufficient. 

Spinach cooked in this manner will retain all its salts. It will be 
more laxative and the flavor stronger than when blanched (boiled in 
water). In young, tender spinach this is not objectionable, but when 
the overgrown vegetable is cooked in its own moisture the flavor is 
strong and somewhat acrid. 

LETTUCE. 

If lettuce has grown until rather too old for salad, it may be cooked, 
and makes a fairly palatable dish. 

BOILED LETTUCE. 

Wash four or five heads of lettuce, carefully removing thick, bitter 
stalks and retaining all sound leaves. Cook in plenty of boiling salted 
water for ten or fifteen minutes, then blanch in cold water for a minute 
or two. Drain, chop lightly, and heat in a stewpan with some butter, 
and salt and pepper to taste. If preferred, the chopped lettuce may be 
heated with a pint of white sauce seasoned with salt, pepper, and grated 
nutmeg. After simmering for a few minutes in the sauce, draw to a 
cooler part of the range and stir in the well-beaten yolks of two eggs. 
See, also, "Peas with lettuce." 

SWISS CHARDS. 

This vegetable is a variety of beet in which the leaf stalk and mid- 
rib have been developed instead of the root. It is cultivated like spinach, 
and the green, tender leaves are prepared exactly like this vegetable. The 
midribs of the full-grown leaves may be cooked like celery. 

BEET GREENS. 

Beets are usually thickly sowed, and as the young beet plants begin 
to grow they must be thinned out. The young plants pulled from the 
bed make delicious greens, particularly if the root has attained some 
little size. Unfortunately, of late years the leaves are attacked by 
insects ; therefore, they must be examined leaf by leaf, and all which are 
infested rejected. Do not separate the roots from the leaves. Wash 
thoroughly in many waters. Put into a stewpan and cover generously 
with boiling water. Add a teaspoonful of salt for every two quarts of 
greens. Boil rapidly until tender. This will be about thirty minutes. 
Drain off the water, chop rather coarse, season with butter and salt. 

The vegetable may be boiled with pork as directed for "Cabbage 
and pork." 

ASPARAGUS. 

This delicious spring vegetable should be treated very simply, yet 
carefully. 

Cut off the woody part, scrape the lower part of the stalks. Wash 
well and tie in bunches. Put into a deep stewpan with the cut end rest- 
ing on the bottom of the stewpan. Pour in boiling water to come up to 
the tender heads, but not to cover them. Add a teaspoonful of salt for 

256 



18 

each quart of water. Place where the water will boil. Cook until 
tender, having the cover partially off the stewpan. This will be from 
fifteen to thirty minutes, depending upon the freshness and tenderness 
of the vegetable. Have some slices of well-toasted bread on a platter. 
Butter them slightly. Arrange the cooked asparagus on the toast, 
season with butter and a little salt and serve at once. Save the water in 
which the asparagus was boiled to use in making vegetable soup. 

Another method of cooking asparagus is to cut all the tender part 
into short pieces. Add boiling water enough to just cover the vegetable 
and place where the water will boil. Cook until tender (about fifteen 
minutes), season with salt and butter, and serve in the greater part of 
the juice. 

If preferred, a cream dressing may be served with asparagus. 

GLOBE ARTICHOKE. 

The large flower bud of the Cynara scolymus is known as the globe 
or French artichoke. The flower buds must be used before they open. 
The edible portion consists of the thickened portion at the base of the 
scales and the receptacle to which the leaf-like scales are attached. In 
cookery books the receptacles are always spoken of as the bottoms. The 
parts of the flower in the center of the bud are called the "choke" and 
must always be removed. 

When the artichoke is very young and tender the edible parts may 
be eaten raw as a salad. When it becomes hard, as it does very quickly, 
it must be cooked. When boiled it may be eaten as a salad or with a 
sauce. The scales are pulled with the fingers from the cooked head, 
the base of each leaf dipped in the sauce and then eaten. The bottoms 
(receptacles), which many consider the most delicate part of the arti- 
choke, may be cut up and served as a salad, or they may be stewed with 
a sauce. To prepare the artichoke remove all the hard outer leaves. 
Cut off the stem close to the leaves. Cut off the top of the bud. Drop 
the artichoke into boiling water and cook until tender, which will take 
from thirty to fifty minutes, then take up and remove the choke. Serve 
a dish of French salad dressing with the artichoke, which may be eaten 
either hot or cold. Melter butter also makes a delicious sauce for the 
artichokes if they are eaten hot. 

SPRING GREENS. 

After months of a very limited supply of herbaceous vegetables, 
which is the usual condition in the northern regions of the United States, 
there is a craving for "greens." In almost all localities many of the 
common weeds are tender and well-flavored when very young. If one 
has a garden, it' can be so managed that there shall be an abundance 
of fresh roots and greens until the time when the regular garden pro- 
ducts are ready. There are a number of plants that may be left in the 
garden over winter for early spring use. Jerusalem artichokes, parsnips, 
salsify, leaks, and potato onions will give roots or buds as soon as the 
frost will permit digging. For greens there are such plants as curled 
green kale, and cabbage. The roots of these plants should be well 

256 



19 

earthed up, and when the real hard freezing weather comes the plants 
must be covered with hay or straw. 

Spinach and kale, or German winter greens, may be sown in Sep- 
tember. When the hard freezing weather comes protect them with 
leaves, straw, etc. Sorrel, if properly protected, will make a rapid 
growth as soon as anything begins to grow. It makes delicious greens 
by itself, or it may be cooked with other greens. It also makes a refresh- 
ing salad. The young shoots of the milkweed are almost as delicious 
as asparagus, when cooked according to the second method for cooking 
asparagus. In fact, the milkweed and asparagus may be cut up and 
cooked together. 

The white goosefoot (chenopodium album) better known by the 
common names "pigweed" and "lamb's quarters," grows in almost all 
cultivated land. When very young it makes good greens, and should be 
cooked like spinach. The dandelion, when gathered before the flower 
bud has attained any size, makes tender greens, and is greatly liked by 
many people because of its pleasant, bitter flavor. The cultivated dande- 
lion is larger leaved, more tender, and of a milder flavor, and is also 
a fine salad if blanched like celery. A small bed of this vegetable will 
give a generous return in the spring, for the small amount of care it 
requires. 8 

The marsh marigold, commonly called "cowslip," is found in many 
regions in marshy places. In the early spring this plant makes good 
greens. Cook the same as spinach. Purslane is a weed common in most 
gardens and is very palatable as a pot herb. It is also cooked like 
spinach. 

In the Southern States the young shoots of the pokeberry or poke 
tops are favorite greens, and are cooked like asparagus, while turnip 
sprouts, cabbage sprouts, and collards are favorite greens of garden 
origin. 

In some regions of Europe young hop sprouts are much prized, 
being cooked like asparagus. Though eaten to some extent, they do not 
seem to be known to many housewives in this country. 

Every locality produces some wild plants that are safe and pleasant 
to use as greens. It is important, however, that the wild greens shall 
be gathered by persons who are familiar with the plants.* 

GREEN PEAS. 

This vegetable should be gathered when the seeds are about half 
grown, and it should be cooked as soon as possible after gathering. 
When the peas are thus young and tender they are best simply boiled 
and seasoned with salt and good butter. Some varieties of peas lack 
sweetness, and in this case a little sugar in the water in which they 
are cooked improves the flavor. Overcooking spoils the color and flavor 
of the vegetable. Peas should always be boiled slowly, and with the 
cover partially off the stewpan. It is impossible to give the exact. time 
of cooking this vegetable, since so much depends upon the maturity of 

a U. S. Dept. Agriculture, Farmers' Bui. 186, p. 18. 

b For a discussion of wild plants used as pot herbs see "Some Additions to 
our Vegetable Dietary," by F. V. Coville, U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1895, p. 205. 

256 



20 

the peas, the length of time they have been picked, etc. Young, tender 
peas will generally cook in twenty or thirty minutes, and the seasoning 
should be added while they are still firm and crisp. If the peas are 
cooked until the green color of the chlorophyll is destroyed they are 
overdone and their delicate flavor is spoiled. When peas are overgrown 
and a little hard they should be cooked by the rule "Peas with pork." 
When this rule is followed a pinch of delicate, small, white onions may 
be added to the peas and other ingredients and will give a very savory 
dish. 

BOILED PEAS WITH BUTTER. 

Put one quart of shelled peas in a stewpan and add enough boiling 
water to cover them generously. Place over a hot fire and when they 
begin to boil draw back where the water will bubble gently. Until the 
peas are done cook with the cover partially off the stewpan. When the 
peas are tender add one teaspoonful of salt and three tablespoonfuls of 
good butter. Cook ten minutes longer. If the peas are not the sweet 
kind add a teaspoonful of sugar with the salt and butter. 



PEAS WITH PORK 

1 quart peas. 

4 ounces pork. 

1 tablespoonful butter. 



1 gill water (H cupful). 

2 small white onions. 
}& teaspoonful pepper. 



Cut pork into small bits. Put butter into stewpan and on the fire. 
When the butter is melted add the pork and cook gently until a light 
brown, then add the water, peas, onion, and pepper. This is a good way 
to cook peas when they are a little old and hard. 



1 quart peas. 

2 tablespoonfuls butter. 

1 head lettuce — the heart 



PEAS WITH LETTUCE. 

1 small onion. 
1 teaspoonful sugar. 
^2 gill water. 

Put all the ingredients into a stewpan, cover and place over the fire 
and cook for five minutes, tossing the vegetables several times. Now 
draw the pan back where the contents will simmer slowly for half an 
hour. 

PUREE OF DRIED OR SPLIT PEAS. 

Soak one quart of dried peas over night and follow the directions 
for puree of dried beans. 

SUGAR PEAS. 

The green pods of the sugar pea may be prepared like string beans. 

Gather the pods while the seeds are still very small. String them 
like beans and cut into two or three lengths. Cover with boiling water 
and boil gently until tender. If they are young and fresh they will cook 
in twenty-five or thirty minutes. Pour off some of the water, which 
will serve for soup. Season with salt and butter and serve at once. 
When the pods are fresh and tender they have an exquisite flavor. 
When the seeds have grown large and the pods become tough they may 

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21 

be shelled and cooked like any other variety of peas. The seeds of the 
sugar pea are tender and fine flavored. 

BEANS. 

Beans are served as a vegetable in three stages of growth, namely, 
the tender young pods, the fresh seeds, and the dried seeds. The pods 
are known as green or strong beans and as butter beans, depending upon 
the variety. String beans make one of our most delicious vegetables, if 
young and properly cooked. They should be gathered before the seeds 
begin to form. In this state the bean is sweet, delicate, and tender, but 
not a highly nutritious, food. Shelled beans, both dried and fresh, par- 
ticularly the former, contain a large percentage of nitrogenous matter. 
The dried, ripe, shelled beans are apt to produce flatulence and some- 
times colic. This trouble is largely due to the hull or skin and the germ, 
and may be remedied in a great measure by proper cooking, and, when 
possible, the removal of the hulls. The best forms in which to eat 
dried beans are in soups and purees. Beans that have been thoroughly 
stewed or baked under the right conditions may be eaten by people who 
live a good deal out of doors. Fat of some kind is necessary in the cook- 
ing of beans. The fat has a softening influence on the composition of 
the beans, and, since this vegetable has a very small percentage of fat, 
it is very desirable to supply this element either when cooking or when 
serving the vegetable. When possible, beans should be cooked in soft 
water. Dried beans are always hard when raw and have a strong acrid 
flavor. To soften them and remove the strong flavor, the vegetable 
should be soaked in cold water, and then brought to the boiling point in 
fresh cold water. This water should be thrown away and the cooking 
be finished in fresh water. A little soda in the water in which the 
beans are soaked and in the water in which they are first scalded will 
help to soften and sweeten the vegetable. 

GREEN OR STRING BEANS. 

Formerly it was difficult to find the slender, stringless green beans, 
but today the progressive market gardeners make a point of raising 
beans of this kind. Unfortunately, not all market gardeners and farmers 
are progressive, and many still raise a coarse, fibrous bean that is a 
disappointment to the consumer. In the very early stage of the pod 
almost any kind of bean will be good, if properly cooked, but all except 
the stringless kind must have their strings carefully removed. The pods 
should be gathered while small and tender. If for any reason they 
become wilted, they must be made crisp and fresh by being soaked in 
cold water. The beans that are brought from the South in cold weather 
are usually more or less wilted. They should be freed from strings, cut 
up, and soaked at least twelve hours in cold water. They will then 
cook like fresh beans. 

TO BLANCH GREEN BEANS. 

Green beans should always be blanched. To do this drain them 
from the cold water and put them into water that is boiling rapidly, 
allowing a teaspoonful of salt to two quarts of water. Boil rapidly, with 

256 



22 

the cover partially off the saucepan, for twenty minutes. Turn into a 
colander and let cold water run upon them. They are now ready to be 
finished in any manner you like. The blanching can be done in the 
morning while the fire is good and the beans be finished for dinner at the 
proper time. 

GREEN BEANS, PLAIN. 

1 quart beans. i 1 generous tablespoonful butter. 

Y^ pint water. | 1 level teaspoonful salt. 

String the beans if necessary and cut them into two-inch lengths. 
Blanch them as directed. Drain and put in the saucepan with the water, 
salt, and butter. Cook for ten minutes over a hot fire, turning the 
contents of the saucepan from time to time. Serve very hot. If the 
beans are not tender it may take fifteen minutes to cook them, but 
under all circumstances be careful not to overcook, as this ruins the 
flavor. If overcooked, green beans become yellow or brown. 

GREEN BEANS BOILED WITH PORK. 

Boil about a quarter of a pound of pork for five hours. Have the 
beans free from strings and cut about 2 inches long. Cook them with 
the pork until tender (about half an hour). 

GREEN BEANS WITH PORK (FRENCH METHOD). 

1 quart boiled beans. I 1 pint hot water. 

2 ounces pork. I 1 teaspoonful flour. 

Cut the pork into small dice and put in the stewpan. Cook slowly 
for twenty minutes, then add the water. Mix the flour with a few 
spoonfuls of cold water; stir into the pork and water. Place the stew- 
pan where the contents will cook slowly for an hour. At the end of 
this time add the beans and cook half an hour. Taste to see if more 
salt is required. A tablespoonful of butter added just before serving 
is a great acquisition to this dish. 

Butter beans, the varieties of string beans which are pale yellow 
in color, may be cooked like the green string beans. 

SCARLET RUNNER BEANS. 

In Great Britain the scarlet runner beans, which are raised in the 
United States almost exclusively as an ornamental plant, are highly 
prized for the table. The tender green pods are "whittled" into small 
sections (after stringing) and cooked in water until just tender. Like 
other green vegetables, they lose their color and delicate flavor if 
overcooked. These beans are at their best seasoned only with butter 
and salt. 

SHELLED KIDNEY BEANS. 

All the varieties of this bean, when gathered while the seeds are 
still tender, may be cooked like the Lima beans. They may also be 
boiled with pork like green beans. It takes from one to two hours 
to cook kidney beans. 

256 



1 tablespoon ful flour. 
1 quart boiling water. 
Salt to taste. 



23 

STEWED SHELLED BEANS. 

1 quart shelled beans. 

l /4 pound salt pork. 

1 onion. 

]/ 2 teaspoon ful pepper. 

Cut the pork in slices and fry it slowly ten minutes in a stewpan. 
Add the onion, cut fine, and cook twenty minutes very slowly. Cover 
the beans with boiling water and boil ten minutes. Drain off the water. 
Put the beans and flour in the stewpan with the pork and onion, and stir 
over the fire for five minutes. Add the quart of boiling water and the 
pepper. Place the saucepan where its contents will simmer for two 
hours. Taste to see if salt enough ; if not, add salt. ' 

This method of cooking new shelled beans gives a savory and sub- 
stantial dish. 

GREEN LIMA BEANS. 

Cover 1 quart of the shelled beans with boiling water. Place on 
the fire where they will boil up quickly, then draw back where they 
will just simmer until done. When tender pour off a part of the water. 
Season the beans with a teaspoonful of salt and 2 heaping tablespoon- 
fuls of butter. 

Or drain the water from the beans. Put the butter in a saucepan 
with 1 tablespoonful of flour. Stir over the fire until smooth and 
frothy, then add the beans and stir over the fire for five minutes. 
Draw back and add half a pint of water, meat stock, or milk. Simmer 
ten minutes. If liked, a teaspoonful of fine herbs may be added a few 
minutes before serving. It will take from forty-five to sixty minutes 
to boil the beans sufficiently. 

DRIED BEANS. 

All dried beans require the same preliminary treatment, no matter 
how they are to be finally cooked and served. Look them over care- 
fully to remove all dirt and pebbles, then wash clean. Soak them 
overnight in plenty of cold water. In the morning pour off the water 
and put them in a stewpan with cold water enough to cover them 
generously. Let them come to the boiling point in this water, then 
drain. If the beans are old and hard, for each quart put a piece of 
soda about the size of a large bean in the water in which they are 
soaked overnight, also in the first water in which they are boiled. 

The scalded and drained beans should be put back in the stewpan 
and covered generously with boiling water. Add 1 tablespoonful of 
salt for 1 quart of beans. They should now cook slowly, with the 
cover partially off the stewpan until they have reached the required 
degree of tenderness. For stewed and baked beans the cooking must 
stop when the skins begin to crack. For beans served with a sauce they 
should cook until perfectly tender, but they must not be broken or 
mushy. For purees and soups they should be cooked until very soft. 

PUREE OF DRIED BEANS. 

Cook 1 quart of beans in water until very soft, then drain well 
(saving the water) and rub through a puree sieve. Put 1 pint of the 

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24 

strained beans in a stewpan • with 2 tablespoon fuls of butter or savory 
drippings, 1 teaspoonful of sugar, 1 teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth of 
a teaspoonful of pepper, and hot milk enough to make the puree like 
thick mush. About half a pint of milk will be right. Cook in the 
double boiler for one hour, stirring often and adding more milk if 
too dry. Heap the puree in the center of a hot platter. Garnish with 
a circle of fried sausages, pork chops, mutton chops, or any fat meat. 
The puree may be served as a vegetable, with any kind of meat. A 
soup may be made with the water in which the beans were cooked and 
the remainder of the strained beans. 

DRIED BEANS SAUTE. 

Cook the beans until tender, but not broken. Drain off the water 
and save it for soup. For 1 quart of beans put 3 tablespoonfuls of 
savory drippings or butter in a large-bottomed stewpan. When the fat 
is hot put in the drained beans, which have been seasoned with a table- 
spoonful of salt and half a teaspoonful of pepper. Cook over a hot 
fire for fifteen minutes, frequently turning the beans over with a fork. 
Cover and let them cook for half an hour where they will not burn. 
If the beans are liked moist add a cupful of meat broth, milk, or water 
before putting them to cook for the last half hour. 

This dish may be made more savory by frying a tablespoonful of 
minced chives, shallot, or onion in the butter or fat before adding the 
beans. A tablespoonful of fine herbs may also be added to the beans to 
make them more savory. 

DRIED BEANS WITH SAUCE. 

The well cooked and drained beans may be moistened with any good 
sauce and cooked for half an hour. 

DRIED BEANS IN SALAD. 

Season the cooked and drained beans with any of the salad dressings 
described on page 48 and serve as- a salad. 

BAKED BEANS. 

Cook the dried beans gently until the skins begin to break, then drain 
off the water. Put a layer of beans in a bean pot or deep earthen dish, 
and on this layer, in the center of the dish, place a piece of salt pork 
("streak of fat and streak of lean") having the rind side up, using for 
1 quart of beans a half pound of pork ; the rind should be scored. Fill 
up the dish with the beans, and add seasonings and water to cover the 
beans. The simplest seasoning is 1 tablespoonful of salt and half a tea- 
spoonful of pepper to a quart of beans. Mix the salt and pepper with the 
water. If liked, a tablespoonful of mustard may be added as well as a 
tablespoonful or more of molasses and an onion. Instead of the pork a 
piece of salt or fat beef or mutton may be employed. In this case there 
should be from \ l / 2 to 2 pounds of the meat per quart of beans. If fresh 
meat be used, add more salt to the beans. If, on the other hand, salt 
meat is used, probably 1 teaspoonful of salt will be enough. 

When mutton is employed trim off every particle of the skin. 

256 



25 

Bake the beans in a very moderate oven for eight or ten hours. Add 
a little boiling water from time to time, but never enough to bring the 
water beyond the top of the beans. Any kind of bean may be baked in 
this manner. However, the small pea bean is the best for "Boston baked 
beans." The Lima and large white beans are best for the deep earthen 
dish. Do not cover the beans while baking. 

LENTILS. 

Lentils may be cooked in purees, soups, etc., like dried beans. 



BAKED LENTILS. 



1 quart lentils. 
1 quart water. 
6 ounces mixed salt pork. 



1 clove of garlic or 1 small onion. 
1 generous teaspoonful salt. 
y 2 teaspoonful pepper. 



Pick over and wash the lentils. Soak in cold water overnight. In 
the morning pour off the water and put the lentils in a stewpan with two 
quarts of cold water and place on the fire. As soon as the water begins 
to boil the lentils will rise to the top. Take them off with a skimmer and 
put them in a deep earthen dish, with the pork and onion in the center. 
Mix the pepper and salt with a quart of boiling water and add. Put the 
dish in a moderate oven, and cook slowly for four or five hours. The 
lentils must be kept moist, and it may be necessary to add a little water 
from time to time. If the pork is not very salt the dish may require a 
little more salt. 

Stewed lentils are prepared in about the same manner, but using more 
water. Instead of pork, fat corned beef or the shank of a ham may be 
employed. 

COWPEAS. 

Cowpeas (a common leguminous vegetable in the southern United 
States), also called black-eye peas, Whip-poor-will peas, Lady peas, corn- 
field peas, etc., are most excellent cooked like shelled beans when green. 
The young pods are also served like string beans. The ripe, dry beans, 
which are also very palatable and nutritious, may be cooked like dried 
beans or lentils. A collection of recipes for cooking cowpeas was recently 
published by the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute Experiment 
Station. 8 

POTATOES. 

There are many varieties of this vegetable. Tastes differ as to the 
most desirable kinds. In America and in England the white, mealy 
varieties are the most prized. On the Continent of Europe the "Yellow 
Holland" is a favorite variety. The white potato, when light and dry, is 
of delicate flavor and thought to be easy of digestion. It is especially 
suited for boiling, steaming, and baking, and for soups and purees. The 
yellow potatoes are more suitable for preparations in which it is desirable 
that the whole or pieces of potatoes shall retain their shape when cooked. 
Such potatoes are the best kind to use for salads, ragouts, hash, and for 

a Tuskegee Experiment Sta. Bui. 5. 

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26 

the fried potato known as "Pommes de terre soufflee," which is like a 
Saratoga chip, except that it puffs up like a little sack rilled with air. In 
general the yellow potato has a richer flavor than the white. 

The potato is in such common use that it would seem as if all its 
characteristics would be well understood and it would be cooked in per- 
fection. Unfortunately, the contrary is true, and perhaps no other vege- 
table is so carelessly cooked as a rule. 

The potato is a starchy food that contains enough moisture in its 
composition to cook the starch. This moisture is in the form of a watery 
juice, in which is dissolved the nitrogenous matter, the various salts, sugar, 
gum, etc. The starch cells are surrounded and penetrated by this watery 
bath. In cooking, the nitrogenous juice is coagulated in part at least by 
the heat, the starch granules swell and burst, and the starch absorbs the 
watery part of the juice. When this stage is reached, if the moisture has 
been in the right proportion, all parts of the potato will present a light, 
dry, glistening appearance. Every one concedes that such a potato will 
not cause digestive disturbance. However, the moisture is not always in 
the right proportion. Ripe potatoes and potatoes grown on a well drained 
or sandy soil will, as a rule, be dry and mealy if properly cooked. Potatoes 
grown in a wet season or in a heavy, damp soil as a rule contain too large 
a proportion of moisture for the starch. Old potatoes that are allowed 
to sprout will be watery, probably owing to the withdrawal of some of 
the starch for food for the growing sprouts. 

A poisonous substance called solanin is found in or near the skin of 
potatoes which have grown exposed to the sun or a strong light. Solanin 
also develops when potatoes are allowed to sprout, and serious illness has 
been known to follow the eating of exposed and sprouted potatoes. The 
green color which a potato exposed to a strong light takes on is largely 
due to the grains of chlorophyll developed in the parts of the tuber 
exposed to the light. The strong flavor is probably due to some substance 
which develops along with the chlorophyll. It will be seen that potatoes 
intended for the table should not be exposed to strong light or be allowed 
to sprout. a 

Potatoes cooked in dry heat, as by baking in the oven, roasting in 
ashes, frying in deep fat, or steaming in their jackets retain all their salts 
and other constituents, and the flavor is more pronounced and savory than 
when cooked in water. But potatoes so cooked must be served just as 
soon as they are done, or else they will become soggy and bad flavored. 
(See p. 13.) 

Potatoes cooked in the skin should be free from any blemish and 
washed absolutely clean. Old potatoes, that is, potatoes that are kept 
into the spring and early summer, are better for being soaked in cold 
water and peeled before cooking. 

BOILED POTATOES. 

The method and time given for boiling potatoes are the same whether 
the potato be peeled, partially peeled, or left with the skin intact. If a 
dozen or two ordinary sized potatoes are put on the fire in a large stewpan 

a For a discussion of composition and structure of potatoes see The Value of 
Potatoes as Food, reprint from U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook 1900; also Farmers' 
Bui. 244, p. 13. 

256 



27 

and are covered generously with boiling water and a cover is immediately 
put on the stewpan, they will be cooked to the proper point in thirty 
minutes from the time the cover was put on the stewpan. Small potatoes 
will cook in two minutes less time, and very large potatoes will require 
about thirty-five minutes cooking. If the potatoes are to be boiled in their 
skins, wash them until clean and then with a sharp knife cut a narrow band 
of the skin from the center of the potato. Cut a little bit of the skin 
from each end of the potato. If the potatoes are to be peeled, use a very 
sharp knife and remove the thinnest possible layer. The skins may be 
scraped off, if preferred, and there are special knives for this purpose. 
Let the potatoes boil fifteen minutes, then add 1 tablespoonful of salt for 
every dozen potatoes. When the potatoes have been cooking thirty 
minutes, drain off every drop of water and let all the steam pass off. They 
are now ready to serve, though they will not be injured but in fact will 
be improved by being kept hot for an hour or more, if they are well 
ventilated in such a way that they dry rather than retain moisture. 

When boiled or steamed potatoes must be kept warm for any length 
of time, place the stewpan on the range on a tripod or iron ring and cover 
the potatoes with one thickness of cheese cloth. This will protect them 
from the cold air and allow the moisture to pass off. 

STEAMED POTATOES. 

Steamed potatoes are prepared as for boiling, put in a closed vessel 
having a perforated bottom, which is then put over a kettle of boiling 
water. The water must be kept boiling hard every moment. They will 
require from thirty to forty minutes to cook. 

BAKED POTATOES. 

Selected potatoes having a smooth, unmarred surface. Wash per- 
fectly clean and let them drain. Put them in an old baking pan kept for 
this purpose — do not crowd them — and put in a hot oven. If the oven 
is large and hot and the potatoes of medium size, forty minutes will answer 
for the cooking. On the other hand, if the oven is filled with cold potatoes 
the temperature of the oven will be reduced quickly and it will require 
an hour to cook the potatoes. Baked potatoes should be served as soon 
as they are done. If they must be kept any time after the cooking is 
completed, break them in order that the moisture may escape. Keep them 
in a warm oven or covered with cheese cloth in a stewpan. 

REHEATING POTATOES. 

Cold boiled, steamed, or baked potatoes may all be utilized in savory 
dishes. In reheating potatoes the following things must be kept in mind : 
The potatoes must be well seasoned to make them savory, they must be 
heated to as high a temperature as possible without burning them, and 
they must be served very hot. The cold potatoes may be sliced or be cut 
into small pieces, seasoned with salt and pepper and browned in a little 
savory drippings, or seasoned as before and heated in the frying pan 
with butter or the drippings. A little minced onion, or chives, or green 
pepper, or a tablespoonful of fine herbs may be added. 

A tablespoonful of butter and a teaspoonful of flour may be stirred 
over the fire until the mixture is smooth and frothy. Add to this a pint of 

25« 



28 

well-seasoned potatoes and stir the mixture with a fork for three minutes, 
then add half a pint of milk and cook until thoroughly heated, being care- 
ful not to burn. A pint and a half of cold potatoes cut in cubes and 
seasoned with salt and pepper may be heated in a pint of the white sauce 
described on page 46. 

ESCALLOPED POTATOES. 

This dish may be prepared by mixing a pint and a half of cold 
potatoes cut in cubes and seasoned with a teaspoonful of salt, one-fourth 
of a teaspoonful of pepper, and a pint of cream sauce. Put the mixture 
in a shallow baking dish, cover with grated bread crumbs, and dot with 
butter. Bake half an hour in a moderate oven. 

SWEET POTATOES. 

Southern and northern tastes differ as to what is a desirable quality 
in a sweet potato. In the South the moist potato is considered best. At 
the North the dry potato is more generally liked. The variety of potatoes 
grown for the northern market is commonly less sweet and moist than 
those grown for the South. However, long cooking will make any sweet 
potato moist. 

BAKED SWEET POTATOES. 

Wash the potatoes and bake the same as white potatoes. Small ones 
will bake in half an hour, while very large ones will require an hour or 
more. If the potatoes are liked very moist and sweet, bake from an hour 
to two hours, depending on size. 

BROWNED SWEET POTATOES. 

Boil medium sized sweet potatoes forty-five minutes. Peel them and 
cut in halves lengthwise. Put them in a baking pan and baste with savory 
drippings, and season with salt. Cook them in a hot oven for twenty 
minutes. 

FRIED SWEET POTATOES. 

Cut the boiled potatoes in slices and fry brown in savory drippings. 
Or the potatoes may be cut in four parts lengthwise, put in a frying basket 
and be cooked for ten minutes in smoking hot fat. The fat must be deep 
enough to cover the potatoes. 

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES. 

Candied sweet potatoes are very popular on southern tables, and are 
extremely palatable when well prepared. Cut boiled sweet potatoes into 
long slices, place in an earthen dish, put lumps of butter on each slice, 
and sprinkle with sugar. Some cooks add a little water also. Bake until 
the sugar and butter have candied and the potatoes are brown. 

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE. 

This vegetable is in season in the fall and spring, and may be cooked 
like kohl-rabi and served in a white cream or sauce. The artichoke may 
also be cooked in milk. 

When this is done, cut the washed and peeled artichoke into cubes, 
put in a stewpan, and cover with milk (a generous pint to a quart of 

256 



29 

cubes). Add one small onion and cook twenty minutes. Beat-together 
one tablespoonful of butter and one level tablespoonful of flour, and stir 
this into the boiling milk. Then season with a teaspoonful of salt and 
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, and continue the cooking half an 
hour longer. The cooking should be done in a double boiler. The arti- 
choke also makes a very good soup. 

TURNIPS. 

This vegetable is generally spoiled by overcooking. The flat, white 
summer turnip, when sliced, will cook in thirty minutes. If the cooking 
is prolonged beyond this time, the vegetable begins to deteriorate, grow- 
ing dark in color and strong in flavor.- The winter turnips require from 
forty-five to sixty minutes. 

BOILED TURNIPS. 

Have the turnips peeled and sliced. Drop the slices into a stewpan 
with boiling water enough to cover generously. Cook until tender, then 
drain well. They are now ready to mash or chop. If they are to be 
served mashed, put them back in the stewpan ; mash with a wooden vege- 
table masher, as metal is apt to impart an unpleasant taste. Season with 
salt, butter, and a little pepper. Serve at .once. 

HASHED TURNIPS. 

Chop the drained turnips into rather large pieces. Return to the 
stewpan, and for a pint and a half of turnips add a teaspoonful of salt, 
one-fourth of a teaspoonful of pepper, a tablespoonful of butter, and four 
tablespoonfuls of water. Cook over a very hot fire until the turnips have 
absorbed all the seasonings. Serve at once. Or the salt, pepper, butter, 
and a tablespoonful of flour may be added to the hashed turnips ; then 
the stewpan may be placed over the hot fire and shaken frequently to 
toss up the turnips. When the turnips have been cooking five minutes 
in this manner add half a pint of meat stock or of milk and cook ten 
minutes. 

CARROTS. 

The carrot is valuable as a vegetable and as a flavorer. When par- 
tially grown and fresh from the ground they have a delicious flavor, and 
are so tender that they may be cooked without water. As the carrot 
grows old the flavor grows stronger, and in the majority of varieties the 
heart grows hard and woody. When the carrot reaches this stage only 
the outer layers are desirable for food. 

CARROTS WITH WHITE SAUCE. 

Scrape the carrots lightly ; then cut into large dice or slices. Put into 
a stewpan with salted boiling water, allowing a teaspoonful of salt for a 
quart of water, and boil until tender. The young carrots will cook in 
thirty minutes and the old ones in forty-five. Drain, season with a little 
salt, put them in a vegetable dish, and pour the white sauce over them. 
Or the carrots may be cut into dice before cooking and boiled and drained 
as directed ; then put them back in the stewpan, and for every pint add 
one tablespoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of sugar, half a teaspoonful 

256 



30 

of salt, and one gill of water or meat stock. Cook over a hot fire until 
the carrots have absorbed the seasonings and liquid. 

PARSNIPS. 

This vegetable, because of its pronounced taste, is probably not so 
generally liked as are most of the other roots. It is at its best in the early 
spring, when it has been in the ground all winter. 

The simplest method of cooking the parsnip is to wash it clean, boil 
it, and then scrape off the skin. Now cut in slices and put in the vegetable 
dish. Season with salt and butter. When the parsnips are tender and 
just out of the ground they will cook in thirty-five minutes ; when old it 
takes from forty to fifty minutes-to cook them. The cooked and peeled 
parsnips may be chopped rather coarse, seasoned with salt, and put into a 
stewpan with hot milk enough to cover them. Place the stewpan on the 
range where the heat is moderate. 

For a pint and a half of parsnips beat together one tablespoonful of 
butter and one teaspoonful of flour. Stir into the parsnips and milk. 
Simmer for ten minutes. Parsnips are often cut in slices after boiling 
and fried in butter. 

SALSIFY. 

This vegetable is sometimes called oyster plant, because the flavor 
suggests that of the oyster, particularly when the boiled vegetable is 
sliced and fried in butter. Salsify is one of the roots that may be left in 
the ground over winter, thus making this vegetable available for the late 
summer, fall, and spring. 

To prevent this root from turning dark it must be dropped as soon as 
it is pared and cut into a mixture of flour and water made slightly acid 
with vinegar. For 6 good-sized roots mix together 1 tablespoonful of 
vinegar, 2 tablespoonfuls of flour, 1 teaspoonful of salt, and 3 pints of 
water. Wash and scrape the roots, then cut into slices about 3 inches long. 
Drop into the prepared water. Place the stewpan on the fire and cook the 
salsify thirty minutes, counting from the time it begins to boil. Drain 
and serve in a white sauce. Or mix together one tablespoonful of butter, 
half a teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon- 
ful of minced parsley or chervil. Add this to the drained salsify and 
serve at once. 

BEETS. 

Beets are among our most useful vegetables, since they may be had 
all through the summer and may also be stored in good condition for 
winter use. Sometimes beets are cut in small pieces, after boiling, and 
served with white sauce, but the most common as well as the most palat- 
able way of serving them is with butter. 

BEETS WITH BUTTER. 

Wash the beets, being careful not to break the skin. Put into a stew- 
pan and cover generously with boiling water and boil until tender. Young 
beets will cook in one hour. As the beets grow old the time of cooking 
must be increased. In winter this vegetable becomes so hard it may 
require four or more hours of steady boiling to soften it. It is then only 
suitable for pickling in vinegar after being thoroughly boiled. 

256 



31 

When the young beets are cooked, take them from the boiling water 
and drop them into cold water. Rub off the skin. Cut the beets in thin 
slices and season with salt and butter. Serve at once. 

KOHL-RABI, OR TURNIP CABBAGE. 

This vegetable is a variety of the cabbage, but instead of the reserve 
nutritive matter of the plant being stored largely in the leaves or flowers, 
it is collected in the stem, which forms a turnip-like enlargement just 
above the ground. Kohl-rabi is fine flavored and delicate, if cooked 
when very young and tender. It should be used when it has a diameter 
of not more than 2 or 3 inches. As it grows large it becomes tough and 
fibrous. 

BOILED KOHL-RABI. 

Wash and pare the vegetables, then cut in thin slices. Put into 
slightly salted boiling water and boil, with the cover partially off the stew- 
pan, until the vegetable is tender. This will take from thirty to fifty 
minutes. Pour off the water and season with butter, salt, and pepper. 

Kohl-rabi may be boiled with pork in the same way as cabbage (see 
p. 14). 

The cold boiled vegetable may be served as a salad. 

CELERIAC. 

This vegetable is also known as ''knot celery" and "turnip-rooted 
celery." The roots, which are about the size of a white turnip, and not 
the stalks are eaten. They are more often used as a vegetable than as 
a salad. 

Pare the celeriac, cut in thin, narrow slices, and put into cold water. 
Drain from this water and drop into boiling water and boil thirty minutes. 
Drain and rinse with cold water. The celeriac is now ready to be pre- 
pared and served the same as celery. 

PUREE OF CELERIAC. 



1 teaspoonful salt. 
1 gill stock or cream. 



1 quart celeriac cut in dice. 

2 tablespoon fuls butter. 
1 tablespoonful flour. 

Cook the celeriac thirty minutes in boiling water, rinse in cold water, 
then press through a puree sieve. Put the butter in a saucepan and on 
the fire. When hot add the flour and stir until smooth and frothy, and 
then add the strained celeriac and cook five minutes, stirring frequently. 
Add the salt and stock of cream and cook five minutes longer. If the 
puree seems dry, add more stock or cream. The vegetable varies as to 
the amount of moisture it requires. It should be eaten very hot. If 
used as a garnish, it is generally put in the center of the dish and the 
poultry or meat placed on it or around it. Otherwise it may be served 
on toast or fried bread as a dish by itself. 

CELERY. 

The culture of this vegetable is so general that one can find it in 
large markets nearly every month of the year. Celery is at its best in 

256 



32 

the late fall and early winter, when the weather has been cold enough to 
crisp the blanched stalks. This plant is most useful as a salad and 
flavorer, but is perhaps most commonly eaten raw, without any dressing 
except salt, as an accompaniment of fish, meat, etc. 

Only the tender, inner stalks should be eaten raw. The hard, out- 
side stalks make a delicious and wholesome dish when properly cooked. 
When thus used, celery should be blanched and served with a sauce. 

STEWED CELERY. 

To blanch celery in cooking, remove all the leaves from the stalks. 
Scrape off all rusted or dark spots, cut into pieces about 3 inches long, 
and put in cold water. Have a stewpan of boiling water on the fire, 
wash and drain the celery and put in the boiling water. Add one tea- 
spoonful of salt for every 2 quarts of water. Boil rapidly for fifteen 
minutes, having the cover partially off the stewpan. Pour off the water 
and rinse with cold water, then drain. The celery is now ready to finish 
in the following manner : Put the celery in the stewpan with one table- 
spoonful of butter, and one teaspoonful of salt for each quart of celery. 
Cover and cook slowly for fifteen minutes. Shake the pan frequently 
while the celery is cooking. Serve hot. 

ONION. 

This vegetable is the most useful of all our flavorers, and there is 
hardly a soup, stew, sauce, etc., that is not improved by the addition 
of the onion flavor. As a vegetable the onion may be prepared in a 
variety of ways. The white onions are the most delicate and are there- 
fore more suitable as a vegetable than the yellow or red variety. The 
large Spanish onions and the Bermuda onion are also delicate and suit- 
able for a table vegetable. If the stronger onions are used for this pur- 
pose they must be thoroughly blanched. 

BOILED ONIONS IN WHITE SAUCE. 

Peel the onions and cut off the roots, dropping into cold water as 
fast as they are peeled. Drain from the cold water and put in a stew- 
pan with boiling water to cover generously. Add a teaspoonful of salt 
for each quart of water. Boil rapidly for ten minutes, with the cover 
partially off the saucepan. Drain off the water and cover the onion with 
hot sweet milk (a quart of onions will require a pint of milk). Simmer 
for half an hour. Beat together one tablespoonful of butter and one 
level tablespoonful of flour. Add one teaspoonful of salt and one-fourth 
of a teaspoonful of white pepper. Gradually beat in about half a cupful 
of the milk in which the onions are cooking. When smooth, stir the 
mixture into the onions and milk. Let the dish cook ten minutes longer 
and serve. 

STEWED ONIONS. 

Cut the onions in slices and boil in salted water for ten minutes. 
Drain well and return to the stewpan. 

For a quart and a half of onion, measured before it was boiled, add 
two tablespoonfuls of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, and one-fourth 
of a teaspoonful of pepper. Cover the stewpan and cook over a hot fire 

256 



33 

for five minutes, shaking the pan to prevent the onion from browning. 
Set the stewpan back where the contents will cook slowly for forty 
minutes. Drippings may be substituted for the butter, but, of course, the 
dish will not be so delicate in flavor. 

CUCUMBERS. 

The cucumber is much oftener eaten in the United States as a salad 
than cooked, yet it is a very palatable vegetable when stewed and served 
with a white sauce, or seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper, and served 
on toast. The pared and quartered cucumber should be cooked until 
tender in boiling salted water, which will require about fifteen mintues, 
and then served as directed. Cucumbers may also be cut in slices length- 
wise and fried like summer squash or eggplant. 

STEWED CUCUMBERS. 

Stew pared cucumbers, cut in quarters, or in thick slices, for fifteen 
minutes in a saucepan with a little water and a minced shallot or a small 
minced onion. Pour off the water ; stir in a little flour, butter, and salt ; 
heat for two or three minutes and then serve. 

CUCUMBER SAUTE. 

Boil pared and quartered cucumbers for three minutes only. Then 
drain the pieces and season with salt and pepper. Roll in flour and cook 
in a saucepan with butter for twenty minutes. This dish may be varied 
by adding minced parsley, chives, and chervil about five minutes before 
the cooking is finished. 

TOMATOES. 

The tomato, although not very nutritious, may be classed as one of 
our most useful vegetables. Raw, it makes an attractive and refresh- 
ing salad and may be served by itself or in combination with other 
vegetables, with meat or with fish. As a vegetable the tomato may be 
prepared in many ways. It makes a good foundation for soups and 
sauces'. Made into catsup or pickles it serves as a relish. The addition 
of a little tomato gives a pleasant, acid flavor to many soups and sauces, 
and also to meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. If possible the tomatoes 
should ripen fully on the vines, as the flavor is much better than when 
picked green and then allowed to ripen. 

When properly canned 3 this vegetable keeps well and retains its 
natural flavor. The housekeeper who has a generous supply of canned 
tomatoes on hand will find them very valuable at all times of the year, 
but especially in the winter months when the variety of vegetables is 
not great. 

Overcooking spoils the flavor and color of the tomato. 

TO PEEL TOMATOES. 

Put the ripe tomatoes into a dish and pour boiling water over them. 
Let them rest in the water about one minute; then pour the water off. 
The thin skin will now peel off readily. 

a For method of canning see U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 203. 
256 



34 

When a quantity of tomatoes are to be peeled have a deep stewpan 
a little more than half filled with boiling water and on the fire where 
the water will continue to boil. Put the tomatoes in a frying basket and 
lower into the boiling water. Let the basket remain one minute in the 
water. There must, of course, be water enough to cover the tomatoes. 

STEWED TOMATOES. 

Peel the tomatoes and cut into small pieces. Put into a stewpan 
and on the fire. Boil gently for twenty minutes or half an hour, count- 
ing from the time it begins to boil. Season five minutes before the 
cooking is finished. Allow for each quart of tomatoes one generous 
teaspoonful each of salt and sugar and one tablespoonful or more of 
butter. 

ESCALLOPED TOMATOES. 

1 pint peeled and cut tomatoes. j 1 tablespoonful butter. 
1 pint grated bread crumbs. 1 A suggestion of pepper. 

1 level teaspoonful salt. 

Reserve three tablespoonfuls of the bread crumbs, and spread the 
remainder on a pan. Brown in the oven, being careful not to burn them. 
Mix the tomato, browned crumbs, salt, pepper, and half the butter 
together, and put in a shallow baking dish. Spread the unbrowned 
crumbs on top, and dot with the remainder of the butter, cut into bits. 
Bake in a moderately hot oven for half an hour. The top of this dish 
should be brown and crisp. 

TOMATO TOAST. 

Boil one quart of peeled and cut tomatoes for ten minutes, then 
rub through a strainer. Return to the stewpan and add two level tea- 
spoonfuls of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, and two tablespoonfuls 
of butter. Place on the fire and cook five minutes. Have the bottom of 
a hot platter covered with well-toasted slices of bread and pour the hot 
tomato over it. Serve at once. A dropped or poached egg may be put 
on each slice of toast. 

OKRA. 

Though okra, a variety of hibiscus with mucilaginous edible pods, 
will grow in most parts of the United States, it is much more com- 
monly eaten in the Southern States than elsewhere. The young pods 
should be boiled in salted water until tender (about twenty minutes), 
drained, and heated for 5 minutes with cream (a scant cup to a quart 
of okra), a tablespoonful of butter, and salt and pepper. Okra is also 
a common ingredient of soups. (See p. 42.) 

The cultivation of okra, methods of serving it, and related topics 
are discussed in a recent publication of this Department. 11 

GREEN PEPPERS. 

The sweet green pepper, though fairly common in our city markets, 
is not as widely known as a vegetable as it deserves. Sliced, it makes 
a very fine salad alone, or, more commonly, mixed with other salad 
plants like lettuce. Stuffed and baked peppers are very palatable. 

»U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bui. 232. 

256 



35 

GREEN PEPPERS STUFFED AND BAKED. 

Use only tender sweet peppers. For six medium-sized peppers make 
a dressing in the following manner: Soak, in cold water, enough stale 
bread to make one pint when the water is pressed out. Season this with 
two teaspoonfuls of salt, one tablespoonful of fine herbs, about one-fifth 
of a teaspoonful each of sweet basil and summer savory, and two table- 
spoonfuls of butter or savory drippings. 

Cut off the stem end of the pepper and remove all the interior, being 
careful to take out every seed. Fill the peppers with the dressing. Place 
them on end in a shallow baking dish and pour around them a sauce 
prepared as follows : Put into a saucepan and on the fire, one tablespoon- 
ful of drippings. When hot, add one level tablespoonful of flour. Stir 
until smooth and brown, then add, gradually, three gills of meat stock 
or water. Season with one level teaspoonful of salt. Cook five minutes, 
then pour around the stuffed peppers. Put the dish in a moderately 
hot oven and bake the peppers one hour, basting often with the sauce in 
the dish. Peppers may also be filled with a well-seasoned dressing of 
chopped meat, made with or without the addition of bread crumbs or rice. 

EGGPLANT. 

This vegetable, as well as potato and tomato, belongs to the night- 
shade family. Like all succulent green vegetables, it has little nutritive 
value. The common methods of cooking are by frying, broiling, and 
baking. 

BAKED EGGPLANT. 

For baked eggplant make a dressing as for stuffed peppers, except 
that a little more salt, pepper, and butter are used. Cut the eggplant 
in two lengthwise, scrape out the inside, and mash it fine, then mix with 
the dressing and return to the shells. Place on a pan and in the oven. 
Cook forty-five minutes. 

FRIED EGGPLANT. 

For fried eggplant cut the vegetable in slices about half an inch 
thick and pare. Sprinkle the slices with salt and pile them upon one 
another, put a plate with a weight on top of the slices. Let them rest 
for an hour, then remove weight and plate. Add one tablespoonful of 
water, half a tablespoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper to 
an egg. Beat well. Dip the slices of eggplant in the egg, then in dried 
bread crumbs. Spread on a dish for twenty or more minutes. Fry till 
brown (in deep fat). 

BROILED EGGPLANT. 

The eggplant is sliced and drained as directed above. Then spread 
the slices on a dish, season with pepper, and baste with salad oil, sprinkle 
with dried bread crumbs and broil. 

SQUASH. 

The various varieties of the summer squash are generally cooked 
when so small and tender that the thumb nail can pierce the rind easily. 

256 



36 

To prepare for the table wash the squash, cut into small pieces, and 
either cook in boiling water or steam it. It will cook in boiling water in 
half an hour. It takes about an hour to cook it in the steamer. The 
cooked squash is mashed fine and seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter. 
This method gives a delicate flavored but rather watery dish. 

Summer squash is very palatable cut in slices and fried like eggplant. 

It is claimed by many that the very young summer squashes, par- 
ticularly the turban variety, or "cymlin" of the Southern States, are very 
delicate and palatable cooked whole. For this dish they should not be 
much larger than a silver dollar. In the opinion of the writer the crook- 
necked and other summer squashes are richer in flavor when grown to 
a large size. From the more mature squash remove the thin skin and 
seeds. Cut the squash in small pieces and put in a stewpan with boiling 
water enough to cover. Boil for half an hour. Drain, mash, and season 
with salt, pepper, and butter. 

Cook winter squash in the same manner. Squash is one of the 
vegetables that require a good deal of butter. 

GREEN CORN. 

Green corn, a typical American food product, is a vegetable which, 
for most palates, is easily spoiled by overcooking, since the longer the 
cooking period the less pronounced the delicate corn flavor. 

BOILED CORN ON THE COB. 

The most satisfactory way to serve green corn is on the cob. Free 
the corn from husks and "silk." Have a kettle of water boiling hard, 
drop the corn into the water and cook ten minutes. If only a few ears 
of corn are put in a kettle of boiling water, the temperature of the water 
is not lowered greatly and the corn will cook in eight minutes. On the 
other hand, if a large quantity of corn is crowded into a kettle of boil- 
ing water, the temperature is very much lowered and the time of cook- 
ing must be increased. When possible, surround the corn with a generous 
quantity of boiling water. 

CORN CUT FROM COB. 

Corn may be cut from the cob and heated with butter, pepper, and 
a little milk. For this dish cook the ears five minutes in boiling water 
to set the juice. Then with a sharp knife cut through the center of each 
row of grains and with the back of a case knife press the grains of corn 
from the hulls. Put the corn in a saucepan and season with salt, pepper, 
and butter. Add enough hot milk to moisten well, and cook ten minutes. 
Serve at once. 

The raw corn may be cut from the cob and treated in the same 
manner. 

SUCCOTASH. 

To a pint of corn cooked as above add a pint of cooked and seasoned 
shelled beans. 

VEGETABLE HASH. 

Hash may be made with one or many cooked vegetables, the vege- 
table or vegetables being used alone or combined with meat or fish. 

256 



37 

Potato is the most useful vegetable for a hash, as it combines well with 
the animal food or with other vegetables. 

The conditions essential to a good hash are that the vegetables shall 
be cut fairly fine, but not so fine that the pieces shall lose their shape or 
stick together — that is, the particles should drop apart readily when 
shaken on a fork. Each vegetable must be cut up separately, then all be 
mixed. The vegetables, or vegetable, and meat or fish must be well sea- 
soned with salt and pepper, and if liked there may be added a little minced 
onion, chives, parsley, chervil, or green pepper finely minced. The hash 
must be moistened a little with meat broth, milk, or water (not more than 
half a cupful for a quart of hash). When the hash is mixed, seasoned, 
and moistened put a tablespoonful of butter or savory drippings in a 
frying pan. When this is melted put in the hash, and spread evenly and 
lightly in the pan. Over this put little dots of butter or savory drippings, 
using about one tablespoonful in all. Cover the pan and place where the 
hash will not burn, but where the heat is fairly good, and cook half an 
hour, then fold and turn on a hot platter. A rich brown crust will have 
formed on the bottom of the hash if the heat was sufficient. Serve very 
hot. The plates on which hash is served should be hot. 

RICE. 

Wash 1 cupful of rice in several waters, rubbing the grains between 
the hands to remove all the dirt. Put the washed rice in a stewpan 
with 2 l / 2 cupfuls of water and 1 teaspoonful of salt. Cover and place 
where the water will boil. Cook for twenty minutes, being careful not 
to let it burn. At the end of this time put the stewpan on a tripod or 
ring and cover the rice with a fold of cheese cloth. Let it continue to 
cook in this manner an hour, then turn into a hot vegetable dish. The 
rice will be tender, dry, and sweet, and each grain will be separate. Dur- 
ing the whole process of cooking the rice must not be stirred. If a table- 
spoonful of butter is cut up and sprinkled over the rice when it has 
cooked twenty minutes the dish will be very much improved. 

HOMINY AND CORN MEAL. 

The large hominy, which is so common in the southern part of the 
United States, is frequently served as a vegetable, either boiled or fried 
in drippings. Fine hominy, which is more common in the northern part 
of the country, and which is often served as a vegetable, should be thor- 
oughly washed, and cooked in boiling water in the proportion of 1 gill 
of hominy to a pint of water, to which a half teaspoonful of salt has 
been added. When cold, the boiled hominy may be cut in slices and 
fried. The slices will brown more readily if they are first rolled in flour. 

Fried corn-meal mush is often served as a vegetable, with chicken 
and other meats, and is very palatable and useful when fresh vegetables 
are not common. It is interesting to note that in the Southern States 
rice and hominy are much oftener used as starchy vegetables in place 
of potatoes than in other parts of the country. 

VEGETABLE SOUPS. 
Nearly every vegetable grown may be employed in the preparation 



256 



38 



of soups, either as the foundation for the soup or as a garnish to any 
kind of meat stock. A few types of vegetable soups are here given. 
Meat, meat broth, or beef extract may be added to any of them if addi- 
tional flavor is desired, but as they stand they are very satisfactory soups. 



MIXED VEGETABLE SOUP. 



3 quarts water. 
1 quart shredded cabbage. 
1 pint sliced potato. 
' pint minced carrot. 

pint minced turnip. 

pint minced onion. 

leek. 



2 tomatoes. 

2 tablespoon fuls minced celery. 
2 tablespoonfuls green pepper. 
2 tablespoonfuls butter or drip- 
pings. 
2 teaspoonfuls salt. 
V2. teaspoonful pepper. 



X2 
1 

Have the water boiling hard in a stewpan and add all the vegetables 
except the potatoes and tomatoes. Boil rapidly for ten minutes, then 
draw back where it will boil gently for one hour. At the end of this 
time add the other ingredients and cook one hour longer. Have the cover 
partially off the stewpan during the entire cooking. This soup may be 
varied by using different kinds of vegetables. 



HERB SOUP. 



pint finely shredded spinach. 



4 tablespoonfuls butter. 

1 tablespoonful chervil. 

2 quarts boiling water. 
V 2 pint bread cut in dice and fried 

in butter or browned in the 
oven. 



l /4 pint shredded sorrel. 

% blanched and sliced leek. 

The white heart leaves of a head of 

lettuce. 
4 potatoes, medium size. 
3 level teaspoonfuls salt. 

Have the sorrel, spinach, and lettuce fresh, tender, and free from 
tough midribs. Wash and shred. Cut the washed leek into thin slices. 
Put in the stewpan with the butter and cook fifteen minutes, being care- 
ful not to brown. Now add the potatoes, salt, and boiling water. Place 
the stewpan where the contents will boil quickly,, and when the soup 
begins to boil draw the stewpan back where the contents will boil gently 
for one hour. At the end of this time crush the potatoes with a fork, 
and the chervil, and simmer five minutes longer. Turn into the soup 
tureen, add the crisped bread, and serve. 

If preferred, the soup may be rubbed through a puree sieve, returned 
to the fire, and when boiling hot be poured on the yolks of 2 eggs which 
have been beaten with 2 tablespoonfuls of milk. 

This soup may be varied indefinitely. Any number of green vege- 
tables can be employed in making it, care being taken to use only a small 
quantity of those of pronounced flavor. 



SORREL SOUP. 



3 pints boiling water. 
3 tablespoonfuls butter. 
Vj, cup shredded sorrel. 
3 tablespoonfuls milk. 
1 teaspoonful salt. 



Yolk 2 eggs. 
V2 cupful bread cut in dice and 

dried in the oven or fried in 

butter. 



256 



39 

Tear the tender green parts from the midribs of the cultivated sorrel : 
wash in cold water and shred very fine. Put half the butter in a stew- 
pan and add the shredded sorrel. Place on the fire and cook five min- 
utes, stirring frequently. Now add the boiling water and salt and boil 
ten minutes. Beat the yolks of the eggs well, then add the milk and pour 
into the soup tureen, and add the remaining half of the butter cut into 
bits. Gradually pour the boiling-hot soup in the soup tureen, stirring 
all the while to combine the hot mixture with the egg yolk. Add the 
bread dice and serve. 

LEEK SOUP. 



3 quarts boiling water. 
2 cupfuls leeks, cut fine. 

4 cupfuls potatoes, cut in dice. 

2 tablespoonfuls butter or drip- 
pings. 



3 teaspoonfuls salt. 
y 2 teaspoonful pepper. 

4 slices stale bread cut in small 
pieces. 

4 tablespoonfuls minced onion. 



Wash the leeks and cut off the roots. Cut the white part in thin slices. 
Pare the potatoes and cut in dice. Put them in a bowl of cold water. Put 
the butter, leeks, and onion in the soup pot and on the fire. Cook twenty 
minutes slowly, stirring frequently, then add the hot water, potatoes, and 
seasoning, and cook at least half an hour longer. Serve very hot. If it 
is convenient and liked, cook with the leeks and butter the white stalks 
of 4 or 5 cibols, or 1 shallot may be cut fine and cooked with the leeks. 

This is a delicious and wholesome soup, and is even better reheated 
the second day than the first. 

CREAM OF LEEK SOUP. 

Make this soup as directed for leek soup, using only 3 pints of water. 
When it is cooked, rub through a sieve, return to the soup pot, and add 
1 quart of hot milk. Beat with whisk until smooth. Half a cupful of the 
milk can be reserved cold and added to 2 well-beaten yolks of eggs. Stir 
this into the soup just as it is taken from the fire.. 

The yolks of the eggs make the soup very much richer. 



POTATO SOUP. 



8 medium-sized potatoes. 

pint chopped celery. 

tablespoonfuls minced onion. 

tablespoonful butter. 

tablespoonful flour. 



\ l / 2 teaspoonfuls salt. 
l / 2 teaspoonful pepper. 
1 teaspoonful minced chervil or 

parsley. 
1 quart milk. 



4 
1 
1 

Pare the potatoes and put. in a stewpan with the celery and onion. 
Cover with boiling water and put over a hot fire. Cook thirty minutes, 
counting from the time the pan is put over the fire. Reserve half a cupful 
of the milk cold, and put the balance to heat in the double boiler. Mix 
the flour with the cold milk and stir into the boiling milk. When the 
potatoes, etc., have been cooking thirty minutes pour off the water, saving 
it to use later. Mash and beat the vegetables until light and fine, then 
gradually beat in the water in which they were boiled, rub through the 
puree sieve and then put back on the fire. Add the salt and pepper. Beat 
with an egg whisk for three minutes, then gradually beat in the boiling 
milk. Add the butter and minced herbs and serve at once. 

256 



40 



CREAM OF CELERIAC SOUP. 



1 quart celeriac cut in cubes. 
1 quart white stock. 
1 pint cream. 
y 2 pint canned peas. 



2 tablespoonfuls butter. 

2 tablespoonfuls salt. 
]/z tablespoonful pepper. 
Yolks of two eggs. 



Follow the rule for puree of celeriac (p. 33), gradually adding the 
hot white stock, rub through a fine sieve, return to the fire, and add a 
cupful of canned peas. Reserve one cupful of the cream cold and add 
the remainder to the soup. Beat the yolks of the eggs well and add the 
cold cream to them, then stir the mixture into the soup. Draw back from 
the fire and beat with the whisk for one minute, then serve at once. 



TOMATO SOUP. 



1 quart peeled and finely cut 

tomatoes. 
1 quart cold water. 
1 onion. 
1 tablespoonful sugar. 



2 teaspoonfuls salt. 
y 2 teaspoonful pepper. 
2 tablespoonfuls butter. 
4 tablespoonfuls cornstarch. 
1 tablespoonful flour. 



Mix the cornstarch with the water and put into a stewpan with all 
the other ingredients, except the butter and flour, the onion being left 
whole. Stir frequently until the soup boils, then cook half an hour, count- 
ing from the time it begins to boil. At the end of this time beat the 
butter and flour together until light and smooth and stir into the soup. 
Cook ten minutes longer, then take out the onion and serve the soup with 
toasted or fried bread. If a smooth soup is desired strain through a 
fine sieve. This is the simplest kind of tomato soup. It may be varied 
by the addition of rice, macaroni, beans, peas, and other vegetables. 
Instead of the fried bread stale bread may be cut in small pieces and put 
in the bottom of the soup tureen. 



1 pint sliced okra. 
\y 2 pints tomatoes pared and cut 
fine. 

2 quarts water. 

3 tablespoonfuls rice. 



OKRA AND TOMATO SOUP. 

3 tablespoonfuls minced onion. 
1 green pepper, seeds removed and 

pepper cut fine. 
3 teaspoonfuls salt. 
% teaspoonful pepper. 



Put all the ingredients into the soup pot and cook gently ,f or two 
hours, then add two tablespoonfuls of butter or sweet drippings and 
serve. The bones from roast meat or broiled meat cooked with this soup 
add to the flavor. 

ONION CHOWDER. 



3 quarts boiling water. 
1 pint minced onion. 
1 quart potatoes cut in dice. 
3 teaspoonfuls salt. 



y 2 teaspoonful pepper. 
3 tablespoonfuls butter or savory 

drippings. 
1 tablespoonful fine herbs. 



Cook the onion and butter together for half an hour, but slowly, so 
that the onion will not brown. At the end of this time add the boiling 
water, potatoes, salt, and pepper and cook one hour longer, then add the 
fine herbs and serve. 



256 



41 



GREEN PEA SOUP. 



1 quart shelled peas. 
3 pints water. 
1 quart milk. 
1 onion. 



2 tablespoonfuls butter. 
1 tablespoonful flour. 

3 level teaspoonfuls salt. 
A teaspoon ful pepper. 



Put the peas in a -stewpan with the boiling water and onion and cook 
until tender, which will be about half an hour. Pour off the water, saving 
for use later. Mash the peas fine, then add the water in which they were 
boiled, and rub through a puree sieve. Return to the saucepan, add flour 
and butter, beaten together, and the salt and pepper. Now gradually add 
the milk, which must be boiling hot. Beat well and cook ten minutes, 
stirring frequently. 

SPLIT PEA SOUP. 



1 tablespoonful flour. 

1 tablespoonful butter. 

1 teaspoonful pepper. 

1 sprig parsley. 



1 pint split peas. 
4 quarts water. 
y 2 pound salt pork. 

1 large onion. 

2 tablespoonfuls celery. 

Pick the peas over, that there may be no blemished ones among them, 
then wash and soak in cold water over night. In the morning turn off the 
water and put them in the soup pot, with the cold water and salt pork. 
Simmer gently seven hours, being careful that the soup does not burn. 
When it has cooked six hours add the seasoning. Have a large wooden 
spoon to stir the soup. When done it should be thin enough to pour. By 
boiling it may become too thick ; if so, add boiling water. When thor- 
oughly cooked, the soup is smooth and rather mealy. If not cooked 
enough, after standing a few minutes the thick part will settle, and the 
top look watery. At the end of seven hours strain the soup through a 
sieve and return to a soup pot. Beat the flour and butter together until 
creamy, then stir into the soup and simmer half an hour longer. If the 
salt pork has not seasoned the soup sufficiently add a little salt. For some 
tastes the soup would be improved by the addition of a quart of hot milk. 

Serve little squares of fried bread in a separate dish. 

DRIED BEAN SOUP. 



1 pint dried beans. 

4 quarts water. 

1 large onion, minced fine. 

4 tablespoonfuls sweet drippings or 

butter which gives a better 

flavor. 



3 tablespoonfuls flour. 

1 tablespoonful minced celery or a 

few dried celery leaves. 
V 2 teaspoonful pepper. 

2 teaspoonfuls salt. 



Wash the beans and soak them over night in cold water. In the 
morning pour off the water and put them in the soup pot with 3 quarts of 
cold water. Place on the fire and when the water comes to the boiling 
point pour it off (throw this water away). Add 4 quarts of boiling water 
to the beans and place the soup pot where the contents will simmer for 
four hours. Add the celery the last hour of cooking. Cook the onion and 
drippings slowly in a stewpan for half an hour. Drain the water from 
the beans (save this water) and put them in the stewpan with the onions 

256 



42 

and drippings. Then add the flour and cook half an hour, stirring often. 
At the end of this time mash fine and gradually add the water in which 
the beans were boiled until the soup is like thick cream. Then rub through 
a puree sieve and return to the fire ; add the salt and pepper and cook 
twenty minutes or more. Any kind of beans may be used for this soup ; 
the Lima beans give the most delicate soup, but the large or small white 
beans are very satisfactory and are less expensive, than the Limas. 

In cold weather the quantities of beans and flavorings may be doubled, 
but only 6 quarts of water are used. The resulting thick soup can be. kept 
in a cold place and a portion boiled up as required and thinned with meat 
stock or milk. 

CREAM OF BEAN SOUP. 

Make as above, but add only enough of the water in which the beans 
were cooked to make the mixture like thin mush. Have this very hot and 
add boiling hot milk to make it like thick cream, about a quart of milk to 
3 pints of the bean puree. Boil up at once and serve. It spoils a cream 
soup to let it cook many minutes after the milk is added. 

SEASONINGS AND SAUCES FOR VEGETABLES. 

Much of the excellence of well-cooked vegetables depends upon the 
proper use of seasonings* and sauces. The seasoning selected should un- 
doubtedly be suitable for the dish, but so much depends upon custom 
that only general suggestions can be made. The Italians and some other 
races are much fonder of garlic than Americans, the Germans of summer 
savory or "bohnenkraut" in string beans, and the English of mint with 
peas. Each housewife must select the seasonings which her family pre- 
fers and endeavor to use them in such a way that the special flavors may 
be most satisfactorily brought out. 

TIME OF COOKING FLAVORERS. 

When a soup, sauce, or vegetable is to be flavored with an herb or 
another vegetable the flavorer should be added toward the end of the 
cooking period. Since the oils and other bodies which give seasoning 
vegetables and herbs their flavor are volatile they are either driven off by 
long-continued cooking or rendered much less delicate in flavor. Herbs 
that are to be left in the dish or served with the dish must be added just 
before the food is served. The herbs generally served with the dish are 
chervil, parsley, tarragon, and chives. 

Burnet, thyme, summer savory, sage, and sweet basil are cooked with 
the dish a short time, not over twenty minutes, and are then removed. 

The little bunch of mixed herbs, the "bouquet garni," so often re- 
ferred to in cook books, is made with two branches of parsley, a sprig 
each of thyme and summer savory, a small leaf of sage, and a small bay 
leaf, all tied together. This is cooked with the dish from ten to twenty 
minutes, then removed. The bay leaves must be purchased at the grocer's. 
Turnips, carrots, parsnips, celery, leeks, cibol, onions, etc., when used just 
as flavorers, should be tied in a bunch and cooked twenty or thirty minutes 
in the dish and then be removed. 

When shallot and garlic are used they should never be cut, but 
separated into "cloves." One clove will be enough for a small quantity 

256 



43 

of soup, sauce, or ragout. _ Never fry shallot or garlic. Cook in the dish 
to be flavored about ten minutes, then remove. 

FRIED VEGETABLES FOR SEASONING. 

Vegetables when used raw as a seasoning give a strong flavor, and 
only a little of each should be used. For flavoring soups, sauces, stews, 
etc., fried vegetables are far superior to the raw. To prepare them for 
use, clean and peel or scrape the vegetables, then cut them into small 
pieces, and put in a saucepan with butter or sweet fat, allowing two gen- 
erous tablespoonfuls of butter to a pint of vegetables. Place on a hot part 
of the range and stir until the butter and vegetables become hot. Par- 
tially cover the saucepan and set back, where the vegetables, which should 
be stirred often, will cook slowly for half an hour. At the end of this 
time place the pan on a hot part of the range and stir the contents until 
the butter begins to separate from the vegetables. Drain the butter, saving 
it with' savory drippings, which every housewife should have on hand (see 
p. 45), and add the vegetables to the dish they are to flavor. 

FINE HERBS. 

In its broadest sense, the term "fine herbs" includes all the delicate, 
savory herbs, such as burnet, sweet basil, tarragon, and chervil. As com- 
monly understood, three herbs enter into the seasoning known to cooks as 
"fine herbs ;" these are parsley, chervil, and chives. They are minced 
fine and added to the sauce, soup, omelet, etc. For an omelet, they are 
stirred into the beaten eggs in the proportion of a teaspoonful to three 
eggs. When added to sauces, the herbs must be added just as they are 
about to be served. These three herbs combine well with almost any 
vegetable, fish, or meat. In general, herbs should be washed, placed on a 
clean board, and cut with a sharp knife. 

Chervil and tarragon when employed in soup or salad should be torn- 
leaf by leaf into small pieces. 

TARRAGON VINEGAR. 

Strip about three ounces of leaves from the branches of tarragon ; put 
into a quart fruit jar and fill with good vinegar. Close and let stand for 
about twenty days, then strain. The best vinegar to use for this purpose 
is white wine vinegar, but good cider vinegar will also answer. The best 
time to make tarragon vinegar is about the last of August, when the plants 
are large and vigorous. Tarragon vinegar may be used for salads and 
sharp sauces, when the fresh herb is not available. 

BUTTER WITH VEGETABLES. 

It is almost universally conceded that vegetables require the addition 
of fat in order that they may be at their best, and there is no fat which 
is so suitable as butter for the majority of- vegetables, judged by the 
texture of the dish and also by the flavor. 

The American housekeeper has a way of looking upon the use of 
butter, milk, cream, and eggs in the preparation of vegetables, soups, and 
sauces as if these ingredients were simply "trimmings" and not food. But 
it should be remembered that these articles are valuable foods and 

29C 



44 

naturally increase the food value of the dish of which they form a part. 
They are all wholesome, and, although almost always more expensive 
than the vegetable foods with which they are combined, their use in 
reasonable quantities is certainly to be recommended. 

Increasing the cost of the dish by the free use of butter, cream, etc., 
may after all be economy if the increase is intelligently made, and the 
vegetable soups, purees, etc., made "hearty" as well as appetizing by the 
addition of butter, eggs, etc., are combined with smaller quantities of meat 
and with light and simple desserts. 

SAVORY DRIPPINGS. 

As a substitute for butter in seasoning vegetables there is nothing 
better than sweet, savory drippings. Not all meats supply fats that are 
savory in the sense in which the word is employed here. The following 
fats may be employed alone or in combination for seasoning vegetables : 
The fat from fried sausages, ham, bacon, and pork, and from roast pork, 
veal, and chicken. Fats trimmed from poultry, veal, pork, and ham may 
be fried out carefully and saved for use in cooking vegetables. Such fats 
have a flavor which comes from seasoning, as in sausage, from smoke, as 
in ham and bacon, or from brown material, as in roast meat. The fat 
skimmed from the water in which poultry has been boiled and the fats 
skimmed from the gravies of most roast meats may be clarified and also 
employed in the preparation of vegetables for the table. Great care must 
be taken that all these fats are clean and sweet, and that the temperature 
at which they are fried out shall not be so high as to impair the flavor. 
Burned or scorched fat is not only unpleasant in flavor, but is a frequent 
cause of indigestion. 

When rendering the trimmings of fat meat, add a small onion or a 
shallot (do not cut them), a few leaves of summer savory, and thyme, a 
teaspoonful of salt, and a little pepper. This seasoning is enough for half 
a pint of fat. Keep the drippings covered, and in a cool, dry place. 

CREAM SAUCE. 



teaspoonful salt, 
teaspoonful pepper. 



y 2 pint milk. 
1 tablespoonful butter. 
1 teaspoonful flour. 

Heat the milk over boiling water ; beat the butter and flour to a cream 
and stir into the hot milk. Cook five minutes, then add salt and pepper, 
and use. This sauce is suitable for boiled cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, 
etc. It is also a good sauce for escalloped dishes. This sauce may be 
modified by the addition of flavoring herbs. 

CREAM MUSTARD" SAUCE. 

Make the cream sauce as directed above. Mix one tablespoonful of 
mustard with a teaspoonful of cold water and stir into the sauce about two 
minutes before serving. The quantity of mustard may be increased or 
diminished, as one may desire the flavor strong or mild. 

WHITE SAUCE. 

This sauce is made like the cream sauce, except that half a pint of 
white-meat broth is substituted for the milk, and two tablespoonfuls of 

256 



45 

flour instead of one are used. The saucepan is put directly on the stove 
and the sauce is simmered ten minutes. White sauce, like cream sauce, 
may be modified by the addition of other flavors. 

TOMATO SAUCE. 

Cook one pint of peeled and cut tomatoes ten minutes, then rub 
through a strainer. Beat in a saucepan until smooth and light one table- 
spoonful of flour and one generous tablespoonful of butter. Gradually 
beat the hot tomato into this. Add the salt and pepper and cook ten 
minutes. This sauce may be served with macaroni, rice, etc., as well as 
with fish and meat. The flavor of the tomato sauce may be modified by 
the addition of onion, spice, or herbs. 

SALADS AND SALAD DRESSINGS. 

Nearly all vegetables may be served in the form of salad. The salads 
made with the raw vegetables are more refreshing and perhaps more 
generally relished than those made with cooked vegetables. The most 
common green salad plant in the United States is undoubtedly lettuce, and 
perhaps celery, alone or mixed with other materials, next. Endive, 
chicory, blanched dandelion, and other plants should also be used, as they 
give a pleasant variety to the menu. Such salads are garnished like lettuce. 
In most of our gardens the only sort of lettuce grown is some variety of 
the head lettuce. Roman lettuce, the "Salade Romaine" of Europe, which 
is fairly common in our city markets, is a delicious variety, which should 
be more generally used by American housekeepers. 

Raw vegetables should be used only when they are young, tender, and 
fresh. When boiled green vegetables are used for a salad they should 
not be cooked so long that they lose crispness and flavor. Salad dressings 
. are usually sharp or pungent sauce, with which the salad is moistened and 
seasoned, or "dressed." The best all-round salad dressing is .what is 
known as French salad dressing (see p. 48). This is suitable for any 
vegetable salad, raw or cooked. Besides the dressing proper there are 
several herbs which are used as flavorers. In continental Europe some or 
all of these herbs are almost an invariable accompaniment of all lettuce 
salads and nearly all other green salads. These herbs are, in France, 
termed the fourniture of the salad, and it is a saying among the French 
that the fourniture is essential to all salads, while the use of garlic, hard 
boiled eggs, etc., is optional. The herbs generally employed in the fourn- 
ture are chervil, tarragon, chives, or cibol. These flavor deliciously lettuce 
and other tender green salads. They are also a great acquisition to soups, 
sauces, omelets, etc., one or more being employed to give special flavor 
to a dish. 

LETTUCE SALAD WITH FRENCH DRESSING. 

2 heads lettuce. I 1 tablespoonful minced chives or 

2 or 3 sprays tarragon. cibol, if the flavor be liked. 

6 or 8 branches chervil. | French dressing. 

Remove all the green, tough leaves from the heads of lettuce. Break 
off the tender leaves one by one and rinse in cold water. Shake off the water 
and lay the leaves on a piece of cheese cloth and put the lettuce, wrapped 

256. 



46 

lightly in the cheese cloth, on ice. At serving time, put the leaves in the 
salad bowl. Have the herbs torn into small bits and sprinkle over the 
lettuce. Sprinkle the dressing (a spoonful at a time) over the salad. 
Lift and turn the salad with the spoon and fork. Continue mixing in this 
manner until all the dressing has been used. The work must be done 
lightly and carefully that the lettuce shall not be crushed. Serve imme- 
diately. This is the French salad that so many travelers remember with 
great pleasure. The secret of its exquisite quality is that the lettuce is 
crisp and tender, delicate flavoring herbs are added to it, the vinegar is 
never strong, the oil is good, and, finally, the dressing is added just before 
the salad is served. In the heat of the summer, when head lettuce is not 
plenty, the tender young plants may be used. The flavor of the salad may 
be varied by the addition of other green salads and herbs, such as chicory, 
sorrel, borage, burnet, etc. When fresh tarragon is not available; tarragon 
vinegar may be employed. 

LETTUCE SALAD WITH CREAM DRESSING. 

1 large solid head lettuce. % teaspoonful pepper. 

1 tablespoonful vinegar. 4 tablespoonfuls thick, sweet 

l / 2 teaspoonful salt. cream. 

Remove the outer leaves from the head of lettuce, leaving only the 
crisp, clean, bleached leaves. Break the leaves one by one from the head, 
and if perfectly clean do not wash them. If not clean, wash quickly in 
cold water and drain. Tear each leaf into three or four pieces ; put the 
shredded lettuce into a large towel or napkin and place on the ice or in a 
cold cellar. At serving time put the lettuce in a salad bowl. Mix the salt, 
pepper, and vinegar in the salad spoon and sprinkle over the lettuce ; stir 
well, then add the cream, a spoonful at a time, and mix by tossing the 
lettuce lightly with the spoon and fork. Serve immediately. 

CABBAGE SALAD. 

Either red or white cabbage may be used for salad, and must be firm, 
crisp, and tender. Remove the outer leaves and cut the tender cabbage 
into fine shreds. Wash well and let soak in cold water for half an hour. 
Drain and season with French dressing or cooked salad dressing. Serve 
at once. 

CUCUMBER SALAD. 

This vegetable should always be crisp and fresh when used. There 
is an old and widespread belief that cucumbers are more wholesome if 
the slices are soaked in cold water or in salted water before serving. 
Doubtless the. distress which some persons experience after eating cucum- 
bers is due to the fact that they are swallowed without proper mastication. 
It does not seem probable that there is any unwholesome property in this 
vegetable when we recall the extent to which it is eaten in some other 
countries and the good reputation which it bears there. In Persia the 
cucumber is most highly prized and is consumed in very large quantities. 
On account of its succulent character it is often used by travelers in place 
of water, as the water supply in many villages and towns is not above 
suspicion. 

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47 

Cucumbers should be pared and sliced thin, and then may be dressed 
with oil and vinegar, like lettuce, or with a little vinegar, salt, and pepper. 
Cucumbers are at their best for salads when fairly young, and should not 
be used after the seeds have become hard and tough, as most persons 
consider them objectionable. A pleasant variation in the appearance of 
the dish may be easily obtained by slicing rather small cucumbers length- 
wise instead of across, as is the more common method. 



DRESSINGS OR SAUCES FOR SALADS. 



FRENCH DRESSING. 



l /4 teaspoon ful salt. 
V% teaspoonful pepper. 



1 tablespoonful vinegar. 
4 tablespoonfuls olive oil. 

Put the salt and pepper in the salad bowl, or in a small bowl if the 
sauce is to be served separately. Add a little oil and stir well, then gradu- 
ally add the remainder of the oil, stirring all the while. Last of all stir 
in the vinegar, which should be diluted with water if very strong. 

This sauce may be modified to suit different vegetables.. As it is 
given it is right for lettuce, chicory, cooked asparagus, cauliflower, arti- 
choke, etc. 

Cream may be substituted for the oil, but the salad is not so rich. 



COOKED SALAD DRESSING. 



2 eggs. 


1 teaspoonful salt. 


1 gill vinegar. 


1 teaspoonful mustard. 


2 gills milk. 


34 teaspoonful pepper. 


1 tablespoonful oil or butter. 





Put the oil and dry ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Add the 
eggs and beat for five minutes, then add the vinegar and beat one minute. 
Now add the milk, place the bowl in a pan of boiling water, and cook until 
the sauce thickens like thin cream. It will take about ten minutes. Stir 
the sauce constantly while cooking. Cool and bottle what you do not 
require for immediate use. This sauce is good for nearly all kinds of 
cooked vegetables. 

If butter is substituted for the oil, add it just before taking the sauce 
from the fire. 

SOUR CREAM DRESSING. 



1 teaspoonful salt. 
j4 teaspoonful pepper. 
1 teaspoonful or more mixed mus- 
tard. 



y 2 pint sour cream. 

2 tablespoonfuls lemon juice. 

2 tablespoonfuls vinegar. 

1 scant tablespoonful sugar. 

Beat the cream with an egg beater- until smooth, thick, and light. Mix 
the other ingredients together and gradually add to the cream, beating 
all the while. 

This dressing may be modified to suit different vegetables. Having 
beaten sour cream for a foundation the seasoning may be anything desired, 
as, for example, the mustard and lemon may be omitted and the dressing 
be seasoned highly with any kind of catsup. 

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48 

A sweet cream may be substituted for the sour ; it should be quite 
thick. 

CREAM SALAD DRESSING. 



2 tablespoon fuls vinegar. 
2 tablespoonfuls sugar. 
1 teaspoon ful salt. 



1 cupful cream (sweet or sour) 
]/ 2 cupful tomato catsup. 

2 tablespoonfuls olive oil. 

Mix the oil, salt, sugar, and vinegar together, then beat in the catsup 
and finally add the cream, beating it in gradually. 

This dressing is very good for vegetables, or for fish salads. 



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